The One That Got Away
by loristamos
Summary: It's been twenty years since Lori Loughlin and John Stamos played Aunt Becky and Uncle Jesse on Full House and thirty-three years since they dated as teenagers. Now that their dream for a spin-off has come true, what will happen when the two Fuller House costars rekindle their heated chemistry behind the scenes?
1. Chapter 1: Twenty Years Later

**Disclaimer:** This is a purely fictional work that does not represent any real situations. This story also is NOT intended to disrespect their personal lives. It's all in fun. Furthermore, we do not own Full House, Fuller House or any of the characters in either program.

* * *

Twenty years. It has been 20 years since the show ended. Since then, John had been trying to push her out of his mind, but the affection and love he felt for her was so much, he just winded up missing her that much more. It had been 20 years of bad-timing and mistakes, and he would give anything to change it.

* * *

Lori pulled into the parking lot, grabbed her cup of coffee from the cup holder, and got out of her family car. When she locked the car, she took a deep breath.

"This is it," she breathed, looking from her car to the building. "So much has changed…" she acknowledged, remembering how back in the day she would bring her luxurious sports car to work.

A moment later, she realized something. She smiled at the vehicle beside her.

"John…" she murmured, tracing her fingers across the motorcycle, remembering how he would take her places, her arms wrapped comfortably around him.

Lori smiled until nerves flashed into her again. She would be seeing the whole cast. She would be seeing John. She took another deep breath and walked into the building. She passed the staff members and gave them each a friendly smile and hello. When she got to the snack table, she put her coffee down and felt her phone vibrate. Lori reached for it in her pocket and looked at the text.

 _Good luck today!_

Lori read. It was a text from her husband. She smiled, a wash of comfort hitting her.

 _Thanks, sweetheart._

She clicked send just as she heard someone call her name.

"Miss Lori Loughlin, hello!"

Lori giggled, rolling her eyes playfully. "Hellooo to you, Mister John Stamos," she replied gleefully at him, earning her a wink from the man.

John walked over and wrapped his arms around her, the sweet smell of her perfume entering his nostrils. She still wore the same perfume after all these years. The one that was his favorite and she knew it. He used to compliment her every day they worked on set.

After a moment, John murmured in her ear, "You really haven't aged…" which had caused Lori to blush and her heart to pound.

"Neither have you," she replied without hesitation.

"I try."

She laughed. He hadn't changed one bit. Not that it was a bad thing. She'd missed him.

Just then his phone buzzed.

" _Good luck on your first day back, baby! 😘"_

He quickly replied a kiss emoji back and shoved his phone in his pocket.

"Someone special?" she inquired, partially to tease him and partially because she was genuinely curious if he had moved on.

"Oh, you know how it is. Just a girl."

Lori just shook her head. "You've always been a ladies man."

"Well, I could have been _your_ man if I had the chance."

Her pulse quickened. He did _not_ just say that.

"Hey! I'm so glad you're here!" Candace exclaimed enthusiastically, hugging Lori.

* * *

Over at the corner, Jodie and Andrea were drinking punch, watching the scene in front of them unfold. When they watched Candace suddenly enter the picture, they laughed quietly together.

"Oh my lanta," Jodie chuckled, mocking the catchphrase in the show.

* * *

"Hey, how are you?" Lori asked, as she could feel John watching her, ignoring the obvious tension Candace simply didn't seem to catch onto.

"Good! How have you been?"

"I'm good. I'm so glad to be back," Lori responded.

"I know it's almost unreal."

John watched the two converse, chuckling to himself at Candace's obliviousness.

A moment later, Candace felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Hey Deej, I have to show you something," Andrea interrupted, coming to the rescue.

"Okay!" Candace smiled brightly in response.

"I'll see you two later," she smiled sweetly before getting tugged by her best friend to the corner with her tv-sister.

As they were leaving, Andrea could hear John say from behind her, "I guess it's just you and me again," followed by Lori's shy giggle.

* * *

Once they were out of earshot from John and Lori, Andrea darted her eyes back at Candace.

"Did you not just hear that?!"

"What?" Candace questioned, genuinely baffled.

"Lori and John!" Jodie exclaimed in a hushed but serious and excited tone.

"What?" she asked again, completely unaware of the situation.

"He was so hitting on her right before you walked up," Andrea reported.

Candace gasped. "He was not!"

"Yes, he was!" Jodie insisted.

"Yeah, we could hear everything they were saying from over here. I guess his girlfriend texted him and Lori asked who it was," Andrea explained.

"When he brushed it off as 'just some girl', she called him a ladies man," Jodie added.

"And he said 'Well, I could have been _your_ man if I had the chance,'" Andrea finished, catching Candace up.

"And then you walked up right after that happened!" Jodie exclaimed.

Candace's eyes got big. "Oh. My. Lanta." She covered her mouth with her hand in shock at the situation.

Jodie looked over at the pair again. "Typical John," she chuckled.

* * *

"So…" Lori began again after a silence. She was leaning against the table, trying to act natural in the tensioned environment.

"So," John mimicked teasingly, noting how cute she appeared just then.

"How long have you known this…girl?" Lori questioned casually, looking away as if it was nothing, before looking back into his eyes.

John narrowed his eyes at her, noticing Lori's hand supporting herself stable against the table and deciding to place his on hers.

"Is someone jealous?" he teased, cocking an eyebrow.

Lori rolled her eyes. "Of course not," she denied, removing her hand from his and holding up her left hand, wiggling her fingers to show him her wedding ring to prove her point.

John laughed. "You do realize that you're wearing Becky's wedding ring, right?"

Lori moved her hand down to her side, embarrassed.

They had agreed to wear the rings their characters had worn so many years ago to add to the nostalgia of the day.

John just smiled, amused.

"You never answered my question," Lori pointed out, changing the subject.

"Three weeks. We met at a bar if you want to go ahead and judge me," he explained, not that he owed her any explanation.

Lori shrugged. "Why would I judge you? It's nothing new. You fooled around with girls alllll the time back when we filmed together. Nothing was ever serious."

John took a step back, alarmed by her words. "Oh really? You think so?"

Lori nodded confidently. "One person was enough for you John, and you never did need another."

It took John a second to realize what Lori was hinting at, but when he did, a smile unknowingly arose on his face.

"I guess you're right," he answered, as they got lost in each other's eyes.

"Okay television-love birds, it's time for the table read. Everyone is already in the room, let's get going," Bob suddenly interrupted them, bringing Lori and John back to reality.

Andrea, Candace, and Jodie stared at Lori and John as they walked in. They gave knowing looks to each other, as if gossiping without words. John sat at one side of the table and Lori joined the girls.

"So, you and John?" Jodie whispered as Lori sat down.

Lori rolled her eyes. "Don't even start, girls," she warned.

Every time Aunt Becky and Uncle Jesse had a line together, it seemed to the other cast members that they were the only two in the room. It was as if the love and chemistry between the characters represented the love and chemistry between the actors in real life.

"And that's a wrap." Those words came so soon. Almost too soon.

Everyone then got up from the table and Lori walked over to the snack table to get a drink.

Andrea leaned her back against the table.

"It's so great to be back, isn't it?"

"Let's all drink to a great season," Lori filled the four of them drinks and passed one to each of them.

"Cheers to the new show. Here's to another eight amazing seasons!" Candace exclaimed, laughing as they all dinged their drinks together.

As they all talked about their favorite parts of the script, John approached.

"We'll leave you two alone," Candace whispered to Lori before moving to sit back down at the table.

"No, wait—" Lori attempted to call to them but they were gone.

John laughed at how the three girls scattered when he arrived.

"Were you girls talking about me?" he inquired.

"Psh no, where would you get that from?" A tint of red naturally came to her cheeks by the simple presence of John.

"Because those girls have knowing looks on their faces… And it's us."

"Okay, just because you're all handsome and charming and gorgeous and sweet and talented and a gentleman and—"

"Shhh, I know," John butted in, running his hand through his hair.

"Doesn't mean you should confidently believe that we were talking about you."

"Okay, but you were, weren't you?"

"...Maybe," Lori gave in. Even though she had acted for years, somehow, to this day, she still got wrapped up in John and failed to tell the smallest lie.

John laughed. "What was it about, Lori?"

"That's for us to know, and for you to never find out."

"Oh, playing hard to get? I like that."

She didn't even flinch at his remark. "You know what's funny?"

"And what is that?" John questioned, smiling.

"I've actually missed this," Lori admitted.

"What? Me hardcore flirting with you and you acting all innocent about it?"

Lori blushed harder. "Yes, exactly," she paused before continuing. "After all, who doesn't want John Stamos flirting with them?"

John laughed. She could always keep him on his toes. She was the only woman who could ever keep up with his banter.

"Well, it's not every day John Stamos gets to flirt with Lori Loughlin."

Lori shyly brushed her hair behind her ear. There was a moment of silence before she smiled.

"You know, sometimes I can't handle the words that come out of your mouth."

"Sometimes I can't handle how beautiful your mouth is," he replied, placing his hand on her chin and lifting her head up so she was looking into his eyes.

Her eyes searched his for assurance as she found herself leaning in closer to his lips.

Just then, her phone rang and she quickly pulled away.

"Sorry, I have to take this."

John nodded in understanding, watching as Lori clicked answer and walked over to the balcony to take the phone call.

"Hey bud," John heard beside him, interrupting his thoughts. His attention toward Lori only wavered as he continuously shifted his eyes to the balcony. "Can you believe this is all happening?"

"I know, it's crazy. It's so nice to see everyone again," John answered with genuinity.

"Yeah, and I'm sure there's one person in particular you must have been most excited to see."

John looked at Dave confused.

Dave laughed. "It's just like the old times— you putting the moves on Lori."

John chuckled. "What are you talking about?"

"What, so if I told you that Lori just got off her phone call, you wouldn't just walk over—" Before Dave could even finish his sentence, John was already making his way over to the balcony.

John opened the screen door slightly to the balcony, trying not to disrupt Lori as she stared up at the sky. She turned to see him as the door closed.

"Oh hey. Sorry, that was my daughter."

"No, it's okay," John said, walking over to the balcony with her and leaning up against the railing. A moment of silence fell between the two.

"What?" Lori asked.

"Nothing, I was just thinking."

"Thinking about what?"

John didn't answer right away.

"You know you can tell me anything," Lori assured, placing her hand on his arm.

"I was just thinking what it would've been like if I was the one you had started a family with," John admitted.

Lori raised her eyebrows, speechless by John's words. Not knowing how to respond, she turned her eyes from his to the sky. She pressed her body back against the railing.

"Hm… I never pictured you to be the man to consider familial matters."

"See, that's the thing."

"What?"

"You've always thought you had me all figured out but you were wrong."

"How was I wrong?"

"There was one woman I would have settled down with. She just got away."

Suddenly, Lori could feel a chill rise up her back. She didn't know what to say, and somehow she could feel a silent understanding between them that there was nothing she could say.

John stared at her for a moment. Without another word, he patted her hand and walked away, leaving Lori alone.

As soon as John left, Lori let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. She could feel her heart crippling, a lump caught in her throat. As she was looking at the sky, a lyric suddenly sang in her mind.

 _I asked the sky just what we had_

 _It shone forever_

Lori looked down at Becky's wedding ring on her finger, remembering the words John had mocked her with earlier.

Lost in her thoughts, she twisted the ring for a minute before reaching into her pocket.

Finding the item she had been searching for, she took it out of her pocket and held it carefully between her thumb and her index finger in front of her.

Lori looked at the wedding ring she was given years ago by her husband Mossimo.

For the first time in eighteen years, the ring appeared in a different light in her mind.

The ring was a reminder of the one that got away.


	2. Chapter 2: Not What it Looks Like

" _There was one woman I would have settled down with. She just got away."_

The words turned in Lori's mind as she laid in bed tossing and turning.

 _"I was just thinking what it would've been like if I was the one you had started a family with."_

John had said it as if she hadn't wondered the same thing. As if she had no idea what it felt like to constantly wonder 'what if'.

When Lori had gotten home, it was past midnight and her husband was already in bed. She had carefully positioned herself on her side of the bed, making sure to leave a good amount of space between her and Mossimo, because, for confusing reasons, she needed to leave boundaries between the two of them for the night.

However, as John's words cycled in Lori's mind, she could feel the body beside her press against her back, his arms wrapping around her.

"Hey honey, how was filming?" Lori's husband asked sleepily, giving her a kiss on her cheek. Mossimo's sudden presence caused a sense of discomfort to arise in Lori.

"Good." She didn't feel like elaborating so she didn't.

"That's good. I love you," he replied.

"I love you too," she almost forced out as he kissed her again. Within a second, he rolled back over and fell back asleep, leaving Lori alone to her thoughts.

Even if she really did love her husband, John still managed to make her question everything.

 _Of course she loved Mossimo. But did she really? If John could come back into her life and leave her questioning, what would have happened if she hadn't married him; did she really love him?_

* * *

John couldn't sleep. He kept thinking about Lori. He tossed and turned but couldn't get her out of his head. That's when he realized what had been missing during the table read. He quickly got up and retrieved his laptop, poured some water, and sat down in the kitchen, typing away.

Upon finishing, he called the other producers and writing team to get his idea approved. There was no hesitation: they all loved it. John then quickly texted everyone but Lori to arrive early the next morning to go over the addition to the script.

* * *

John awoke the next morning, eyes slowly opening before staring at the empty space beside him. He rubbed his eyes gently, squinting to adjust to the light around him. He stretched before turning to his bedside table and checking his phone for notifications.

 _Good morning, babe_

It was from his girlfriend, Juliette.

He didn't even bother to answer and instead got up and got ready for the day in front of him. If he was being truly honest with himself, he did not have a single care for Juliette. She was simply one of the many women he fooled around with in attempt to move on from Lori. Yet, no matter how many times he tried to give his heart to someone, nothing and no one could fill the void.

John got dressed and went to the kitchen. After pouring himself a cup of coffee, he paused and decided to pour one for Lori as well. His head spun with emotions as he grabbed his wallet and keys and went out the door, but above all of them he was anxious to see what would happen after the words he had told to Lori the day before.

He realized last night when trying to fall asleep that he may had been too upfront and potentially scared her off, and when he had woken up this morning, regret had filled his mind. Never in his life did he want to pressure Lori or make her feel uncomfortable. Nothing mattered more to him than seeing the woman he was and always will be in love with happy.

* * *

John took a deep breath as he arrived on set. He grabbed the new scripts out of the passenger seat and the two coffees from the cup holder. This was it. If this didn't show her he had never gotten over his feelings for her, he didn't know what would.

As he entered the building, everyone except Lori was sitting and waiting for him and the new scripts.

"Good morning, everybody! Let's get started! I hope you got my email last night about the slight change in the script and had time to review the PDF version I attached," he announced, setting the coffees on the table and passing out the script. "It's just a minor change, so it shouldn't be that big of a deal. I just want to do one run-through of that scene really fast."

"Shouldn't we wait on Lori since she's the one you're going to be singing to?" Andrea questioned, confused.

John immediately shook his head. "I thought it would be a nice surprise for her."

Dave, Bob, Candace, Andrea and Jodie all rolled their eyes practically in synch.

He turned to look at all of them.

"What?"

"Nothing," they all insisted.

"I just thought it would be a nice addition to celebrate Aunt Becky and Uncle Jesse's love after all these years," he further explained.

The others didn't believe a word he said. They all knew he had always liked to woo Lori whenever the opportunity struck and this was yet another time for him to do just that.

After a chorus of laughter, there was a small pause before Candace decided to add in, "Aww, I think that's sweet," kindly backing him up.

"Thank you, Candace," John smiled, looking her way. "Alright everyone, take your places and let's take it from the top," he announced.

* * *

An hour later, Lori arrived at the studio. As she did yesterday, she kindly greeted all the staff members. When she passed one of the writers, however, the writer waited until Lori was a good distance away before communicating Lori's arrival through his earpiece, due John's command.

When Lori made it to the main set, she immediately realized everyone was already there, even Dave who was nine times out of ten the last person to arrive. This setting confused her as she walked over to the snack table and grabbed a bagel.

A few minutes later, Jodie walked up to Lori, carrying a cup of coffee in her hand. "Good morning, Lori! John's currently working on producer stuff, so he told me to give you a cup of coffee he brewed for you this morning. He also told me to greet you with 'Coffee m'lady?' but I felt inclined to do otherwise."

Lori chuckled. "How sweet… and how very typical of him."

Jodie laughed at her words. "So," she continued, looking at Lori, "how are you?"

"So many emotions…scared, worried, excited, overjoyed… however, I am currently, more than anything, confused. How did everyone manage to get here before me? Even Dave?" Lori looked over at the other side of the room, watching Dave as he ate a doughnut. There was powder on his face. He hadn't changed one bit. "I got here at exactly nine o'clock."

"Hm, not sure," Jodie stated casually, "I think we're all just really excited to shoot the first episode. Plus Dave just really wanted the doughnuts."

Fortunately, Jodie's acting ability shined enough for her to fib to her friend; plus Lori could blame the fact that she wasn't ten minutes early - as per usual - because she simply couldn't fall asleep the night before.

"So, when did John say he was coming back?" Lori inquired. As much as she hated to admit, they did have things they needed to discuss after last night.

"Probably just a few minutes. He said he'd be right back," Jodie informed her.

"Oh, okay." Lori looked nervously around the set as she sipped her coffee. Her nervousness turned into panic as she realized everyone had what seemed to be different scripts than hers.

"Did they issue different scripts this morning?" Lori asked, confused.

Jodie thought quickly and responded. "They just handed them out right before you got here. I think John has the rest."

"Ah, I see. You have to love last minute changes."

"Oh, you sure will love it," Jodie mumbled under her breath, trying to mask her smile.

"What?"

"I said I'm sure the audience will love it."

Lori smiled. "I'm sure whatever it is, it will be great. The table read yesterday seemed to give everyone the nostalgia they were hoping for."

"Yep, it's going to be a hit," Jodie agreed before walking over to chat with Candace.

John walked in just in time to film the opening scenes which he, as well as the rest of the cast, were included in.

"Are you ready for this?" he questioned as he and Lori headed to their spots upstairs so they'd be ready to walk down from the 'attic' on cue.

"Ready as I'll ever be," she replied, looking back at him as he trailed behind her up the stairs.

"Oh my gosh, are you checking out my butt?"

"No, of course not. Keep walking," John responded as if appalled by her accusation.

She didn't believe him for one minute but she also didn't care.

"Are _you_ ready for this?" Lori returned the question.

"Definitely. I could do this in my sleep," John replied confidently and she giggled. Some things never changed.

Lori was quiet for a moment and John looked at her.

"Are you oka—"

"Can I do something real fast?" Lori interrupted.

John nodded, confused, and before he knew it her lips were on his.

When she pulled away, she smiled. "I just didn't want our first kiss in over twenty years to be in front of America. Plus I thought we could use the practice," Lori replied nonchalantly.

John smirked. "That actually wasn't our first kiss in the last twenty years. We kissed on the reunion show too."

 _Oh my gosh he remembered_.

"What?" Lori questioned, innocently.

"Yeah, and as a matter of a fact, if memory serves me right, you were the one to kiss me then too."

She just stood there at a loss for words.

Within seconds, John dipped Lori and pressed his lips against hers. "Third time's a charm," he whispered shortly before he heard the director yell, "Rolling!"

Lori's head spun with a million thoughts as the scene started and she had to focus on not forgetting her lines. She finally gained her composure in the few minutes after John walked down to deliver his first few lines without her. And by the time it was her cue, she delivered her lines with grace.

"Good morning!" she greeted enthusiastically as she walked down the stairs.

"Man, oh man, I'm exhausted," she complained as she walked up to John.

"From last night?" he replied as he suggestively raised his eyebrows.

 _That line had to have been written by John_ , she thought to herself.

"No, from walking down all of those stairs to the attic. We made that climb every day for seven years?"

"No wonder your butt was so firm."

 _Another line more than likely by John_.

"What do you mean 'was'?"

"Let me fin– Did I say was? I mean is. I didn't— kiss me," he rambled before they kissed for the third time in the last fifteen minutes.

The camera then cut to Bob; as Lori walked over to the counter, she couldn't hide her smile.

It took a few tries, but after a bit the scene was finally finished and the crew moved onto the next. Lori and John didn't have a scene for awhile and went off to their break.

John, as the producer, had to discuss a few of the next scenes for a bit with the staff on set.

Lori's mind went back and forth, debating whether she should wait or just leave without him. A few minutes passed and she decided to leave, but then she felt a tug on hand.

Lori looked back and felt John's hand secure itself in hers.

"Hold on, I have something I want to show you." John began walking, pulling Lori behind him.

As each minute ticked by, Lori grew more and more anxious. _Where was he taking her?_ She eyed their hands still interlocked together as they walked.

"Where are we going?" she finally questioned after a bit. She still had no idea what was happening.

John laughed. "What? Are you nervous or something?" he teased playfully.

"Psh no." Lori blushed slightly in response, deciding to stay quiet.

A minute later, John opened the door to his trailer.

Lori widened her eyes, her heartbeat rising as she hesitated to step in the room. "W—what… is going on, John? What in the world are you up to?"

John stepped in his trailer and noticed Lori refusing to step foot inside.

"Just sit, babe," he cooed, motioning her to the couch.

Lori still wouldn't budge.

John raised his eyebrows and smirked. "It's okay, I promise. I won't put the moves on you."

Lori looked at him once more before finally deciding to sit down on the couch. She looked around anxiously, keeping to herself.

John went to the fridge. "Do you want anything? Or just coffee?"

Lori chuckled. "You know me too well. I'll take another coffee, please."

John made Lori another cup of coffee and then brought it over to her.

"Here you go," John told her, handing her the cup. "Oh, and this is also for you." John handed her a script, sitting down next to her.

"Is this the new script?"

"Yep, there were just a few slight changes. Turn to page 105."

Lori flipped to the page and couldn't help but laugh. " _Another_ Uncle Jesse and Aunt Becky scene? I wonder whose idea that was."

"Nope, you're wrong an _Aunt Becky and Uncle Jesse_ scene," he corrected, emphasizing her character's name first in an attempt to act chivalrous.

She laughed. Her eyes scanned the page.

"No, no, no," John interrupted, waving his hand in front of what she was trying to read. "Let's just go through it together. A run-through right now."

"Oh, okay…" Lori answered nervously. She never did like getting herself into scenes until she completely grasped her lines in it, but she trusted John and whatever he was up to.

"Ready?" John asked, scooting closer to her on the couch.

Lori nodded as his hand touched her leg.

"And now it's time to force Jesse to sing the song that we love and he hates. It was a hit in Japan in 1992 and right now let's make it a hit in our living room. Forever. Forever. Forever," John recited, reading Stephanie's lines.

"Nah, nah, nah. Guys, guys, I've been singing 'Forever,' forever. I'm never singing 'Forever' as long as I live," John continued as Lori looked up at him, attempting to catch on since he had barred her from cheating and reading the script.

There was a pause and John looked at her. "And now it's your line."

"Oh, sorry," Lori apologized, looking down at the script.

"Sweetheart, it's our wedding song," Lori recited.

"Hit it, Rippers," John demanded, before looking into Lori's eyes lovingly.

"This song goes out to my beautiful Becky."

Lori could see genuine admiration in John's eyes as he took her hand and held it in his before he continued.

"Thank you for 28 beautiful years. I will love you forever."

Before Lori knew it, he kissed her again. The kiss was longer than the one they had shot just an hour before and it caused her heart to race. When they broke apart, he started singing.

"If every word I said could make you laugh, I'd talk forever. Awe-ahhh. I'd ask the sky just what we had; ooohh, it shone forever. Ahhh. Forever."

Lori couldn't help the red tint that arrived to her cheeks as he sang and his eyes gazed into hers. She felt every word of the song in her soul and she ached to lean over and kiss him as he continued singing. His singing was just as she remembered it.

"I've been so happy loving you; let the love I have for you live in your heart and be forever. Forever. Forever. I've been so happy loving you..." he finished, kissing Lori gently before pulling away. She smiled when he kissed her and noticed when he pulled away.

"So what do you think?" John inquired, placing his hand on her thigh.

Lori brushed her hair behind her ear and she looked at the script. "Wow. I— wow."

John laughed. "Left you speechless I see."

She truly was at a loss for words.

"I just thought it would be a nice addition to celebrate Aunt Becky and Uncle Jesse's love," John explained.

"Oh no, of course. It's beautiful. You...wow…" Lori just kept smiling as she looked at him.

"You really wrote this entire scene?"

"Yeah, last night. I was having a hard time sleeping. Probably from the excitement of the show and—"

Lori dazed off. He couldn't sleep either. And he was obviously thinking about her if he wrote this.

"John, I just don't even know what to say."

"That's why everyone was here this morning. I texted them to arrive an hour before you so we could run through it and—"

"And we could run through it right now, alone?" she questioned.

He laughed. "I just wanted to surprise you."

"You're starting to surprise me more and more every day," she murmured, looking into his eyes.

He smiled. "That's a good thing, right?"

She nodded. "Thank you. That was really sweet."

"Oh, you know how it is. It's no big deal," John brushed it off.

"It is a big deal and that's the sweetest thing anyone's done for me in a while." She looked back down at her script.

After a moment of silence, Lori continued, "so this is what you were thinking about last night? Us?"

"Oh well, you know, it's more like I was thinking about Aunt Becky and Uncle Jesse. They deserved this."

"Oh yeah, right. So this wouldn't have _anything_ to do with us?"

"Maybe a little," he confessed, acting like he didn't want to admit it.

"John, I really—"

Just then his phone rang and he answered it, motioning for Lori to hold on one minute.

"Yes. Okay. Alright. I'll be right there," he finished before hanging up.

"I'm really sorry, they need my help out there. Can we finish this conversation later?"

Lori sighed. "Okay. Do you want to grab some dinner tonight? I know a little café that's really quiet."

"Are you asking me on a date?" John teased.

"You never did know what was considered a 'date,'" Lori laughed, referring to their infamous disagreement about Disneyland.

"Hey, making out on the Matterhorn is a date!" John refuted, turning to look at Lori, half-serious, half-joking as he walked toward the door and she followed.

She laughed. "I'm serious. I think we need to talk."

"Oh, that's never good," he replied jokingly.

Lori laughed. "Go on and take care of your producer duties. They're waiting on you," she directed him as she absentmindedly rubbed his back and gave him a slight push out the door.

"We'll finish this later," he replied, turning around as he fixed the collar on his dress shirt.

Lori smiled as he walked away and she stood in the doorway to his trailer. Then she heard a noise and looked over. There stood Candace in front of them. Candace had her hand over her mouth, standing there in shock. She had witnessed their entire goodbye.

"This is not what it looks like," Lori insisted.


	3. Chapter 3: One Day

"This is not what it looks like," Lori insisted.

"Really?" Candace whispered in a hushed yell, so none of the wardrobe or makeup assistants who were passing by could hear her, "Because it looks like you're flushed red, hair messy, standing in John's trailer."

Lori didn't know what to do other than look on the floor and embarrassingly fix her hair.

Candace's eyes widened and gasped with realization, "And on top of all that, there was red lipstick on John!"

Lori looked back up at Candace, "Hey, that could just be from our scene earlier."

Candace narrowed her eyes at Lori. "Was it?"

Lori looked away again, refusing to answer the question.

Candace crossed her arms at Lori. "You know I love John and he may act all charming, but you can't just let him crawl his way back into your heart. That's just asking for trouble."

Lori looked back at Candace, "But… what if he never exactly… left my heart?"

Candace bit her lip, thinking through her words carefully. "Just be careful, okay?"

Lori nodded slowly before finally stating what had been on her mind. "I will, but listen, I don't really want to talk about this right now, okay?"

Candace stepped forward. "I'm just trying to help you."

"I know, but—"

Suddenly, their director called, "Candace, your scene's up!"

Candace looked at the director, "I'll be right there!"

Lori couldn't help but smile. "Duty calls!"

Candace looked back at Lori again but didn't add anything else before walking back to the set.

Once Candace was gone, Lori decided to go back in John's trailer and do a quick makeup and hair check before leaving again, shutting the door on her way out. She began walking and turned the corner until she bumped into someone.

Lori raised her eyebrows. "What are you doing?"

Jodie uncovered herself from behind Lori's trailer and looked up at Lori. She chuckled nervously. "I was not hearing in on that, no, not at all."

Lori sighed, "Don't worry, I'm sure Candace is going to try and fish all the information out of me later, and you're free to listen in then too."

Jodie grinned, "Great!"

Lori laughed at Jodie, deciding to continue walking so she wouldn't have to talk more about the situation. She genuinely did want to tell the girls everything. After all, the _Full House_ cast never kept secrets from one another and infinitely told each other everything, but she had to figure out the situation with her and John first and how she felt about everything before expelling the information to anyone. How could she get the others to understand when she herself couldn't?

* * *

The night went by fast and luckily the girls didn't harass Lori with any more questions about John, not because they didn't plan on it, but because they simply didn't have time. As soon as filming was over, Lori grabbed her purse and tried to sneak out before she was bombarded. She planned on texting John when she got in the car. She wasn't in the mood for awkward conversations with the cast when she was already going to face a dinner full of awkward conversations with John.

Just as Lori was scurrying out the door, she heard her name called and turned around.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" John asked, running over to her and causing a scene.

"Shhh… I was trying to sneak outside for a reason. Come on," she whispered and motioned for him to follow her.

She could practically feel the girls watching and judging her as they left.

"What's going on?" John inquired, concerned, as they both stepped outside to the parking lot.

"Nothing…"

"C'mon Lori, I know you better than that," John insisted.

"Look, Candace and Jodie both just happened to catch me leaving your trailer and they think there may be something going on between us. I just don't feel like answering questions. Can we please wait until we get to dinner to discuss this?" she begged.

"Of course, let me just say bye and I'll be right back out here. Okay?"

Lori nodded.

A moment later, John returned. "Okay, I'm ready to go. Your car or mine?"

"Erm…" Neither of those sounded like a good idea. "I think we should just meet there."

"Are you still scared of my driving?" John teased.

Lori laughed. He was right, she always used to criticize his driving back in the day. But truth be told, she just thought they needed the space and that it would be a safer way to avoid the tabloids.

"I'm just teasing, it's your call. I'll see you there."

Lori watched John walk away, helplessly checking out his body before coming back to reality and going to her car. She was happy and relieved that he still put her on a pedestal and agreed with her wishes instead of prying.

* * *

Lori and John pulled up into the parking lot of the café. John was the first one to get out and from Lori's rear-view mirror, she could see him approaching. Nervously, Lori unbuckled her seat belt and quickly pulled out her phone.

 _Hey honey,_ Lori texted Mossimo, _Sorry, but_ _I'm not going to be able to make it to dinner tonight._

Lori heard a knock on her window and looked outside of it to see John charmingly standing there with a gentleman smile on his face, causing a smile to rise on Lori's.

John sweetly opened the door for Lori. "Ready to go, m'lady?" he asked her.

Lori chuckled, remembering Jodie's words from this morning. "Sure am," she replied, shoving her phone in her pocket and allowing John to take her hand and lead her into the café. John could see a light flash in Lori's bag, but decided to ignore it.

John opened the café door for her. "Ladies first," he declared, causing Lori to smile even brighter. Mossimo had opened the door for Lori countless occasions, but for some reason John doing it just seemed so natural and fitting for him. It brought her back to the old days and made Lori feel like they were still in the 90s and the time gap in between was nonexistent.

John let Lori pick out the table: a quiet one distanced in the corner, beside a window but far enough that they couldn't be seen from passing fans. He pulled out the chair for her and then sat down across from her.

Within seconds, a flustered redheaded teenage waitress went up to their table. "John Stamos and Lori Loughlin, oh my gosh."

John wagged his finger. "Correction: oh my lanta."

The server blushed and squealed at John's response. "You're everyone's uncle—and y-you—"she shakily added, "You're his wife!"

Lori's eyes widened before forcing a small laugh.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I meant you play his wife on television. You're so beautiful! And Jesse and Becky are actual relationship goals!"

Lori smiled awkwardly, "Yes… yes, I do. And thank you," she paused, looking down at the redhead's name tag, "Claire."

Claire smiled, "I'm such a big fan, you have no idea," she exclaimed sweetly.

Lori exchanged looks with John before they both stood up and gave Claire a kind hug.

"We appreciate your support so much," Lori declared.

Claire grinned as they sat down and took their orders. As she was walking away, John could hear her say, "I'm so glad I get to work in Los Angeles," followed by a squeal, causing John to smirk to himself.

As soon as Claire was gone, Lori started fumbling nervously with her napkin. She hadn't been on an actual date in eighteen years, and although it wasn't actually declared a date or anything, for some reason this time felt different than all the other dinners she'd had alone with John.

John noticed Lori's nervousness and laughed. "Are you taken aback by her comment about you being my wife?"

Lori looked up at John, crinkling her nose. "Well, now I am," she sighed.

John smiled assuringly. "It's fine, she didn't mean harm. At least she wasn't like your daughter's orthodontist who straight up said that we should be together."

He kept his eyes on Lori, hoping his statement would at least win a smile out of her, but ended up frowning when he didn't. John tried again, deciding to place his hand on Lori's, but then stopped when finding her wedding ring still on, causing him to pull back.

"Yeah, no, she's really sweet, and I agree, Becky and Jesse are complete 'goals,'" Lori affirmed. She decided on placing her napkin properly on her lap, avoiding eye contact with John.

"Then what's wrong?" John inquired worriedly.

"It's just…"

"You know what you said before isn't a one-way street, you can tell me anything too," John assured her.

She half-smiled, still hesitating to tell him anything.

"It's just being back. I don't know. It's more complicated than I'd thought it'd be."

"I know what you mean," John sighed, looking into her eyes.

"Do you?" Lori darted her eyes back into his. "Do you understand that yesterday when you said you wonder what it would have been ike if we would have had a family together, that I've thought about that so many times throughout the years? That I've thought about what would have happened if the timing had been different between us, almost everyday? That every time someone says we should be together, I question if they're right? Do you really understand what it's like when you kiss me or look into my eyes or tell me I'm the one that got away?"

"I do. I know what that's like, Lori. I think about you every day. I kick myself because I never tried harder. I let you go. It's something I have to deal with too."

"Then why, John? Why talk about it? Why make this huge scene of us being together again?"

"I just thought—"

"What? That I would come running to you?"

John looked away from her and sat there quietly. It broke Lori's heart.

"Look, I care about you," Lori continued, softening her voice. "I've always cared about you, but I have a husband and children. I have a life I've worked really hard to maintain. I can't throw all of that away."

"I never asked you to."

Lori stopped right there. Her eyes softened as she fell back in her chair, defeated. _He didn't ask her to._ She had been so caught up in her emotions that she had gotten carried away.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean—you never even…"

John smiled. "It's okay."

She looked at him, baffled. _How was this okay with him? How was he taking this so well?_

"But I love you," John continued.

Lori looked at him, shocked. He'd never mentioned that. After all of these years. Sure, they'd said it as Becky and Jesse, but he'd never actually said that off screen. In fact, Lori had never even heard him say that to his girlfriends. The only other person she'd ever heard him say 'I love you' to was his ex-wife.

"I always have. I always will. I didn't plan it. It just happened. It's been 20 years and the fact remains that nothing could ever happen to change it, Lori. You were the one who got away." John looked deeply into Lori's eyes as her heart began to race. "You deserve honesty and this is it. I'm not asking anything in return. I just think you deserve to know how I've felt all these years — how I still feel to this day."

Lori searched his eyes for answers.

"I understand you have a family. I don't want to interfere with that. You just deserve the best. You always have, and I thought I would try my best this season to give you that, but I won't let my personal feelings interfere in the workplace. I promise. I want you to be happy. That's all that matters to me."

Lori didn't know what to say. It was all too much to process. Her head was spinning.

"Are we okay?" John confirmed, concerned at her silence.

Lori nodded. "I'm okay. Thank you. For everything. I really appreciate it."

John smiled.

"And thank you for the surprise scene today. That was really sweet." She smiled that smile he loved so much.

"You're more than welcome, and I'm sorry, in the future I'll try to limit the surprises," he offered.

"No, it's okay. It was nice, really. I'm sorry about all of this." She motioned between them. "I don't want things to be weird between us. I just… things are so confusing when we're back together. They always have been."

John took her hand subconsciously in an attempt to comfort her.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, pulling away again when remembering the ring; however, Lori pulled him back and held his hand tighter.

"It's going to be okay. I know it's confusing, but we'll figure it out together," John promised.

"I know," Lori responded, not breaking eye contact as her hand rested in his.

"Alright, the food's here!" Claire bounced over to set the plates down and then pausing when she saw their hands. Lori and John both embarrassingly pulled away.

"Sorry, hope I wasn't interrupting anything," the waitress apologized as she sat the food down.

"No, not at all," John assured.

"There you go! Were you two rehearsing for the show?" Claire pryed.

"Always," John answered, smiling at Lori.

"Yeah, you know us, always practicing our lines," Lori added nervously. _If only it was that simple._

"That's so sweet. I can't wait to see the show. Anyway, I'll leave you two alone. Is there anything else I can get for you?"

They both shook their heads.

"No, I think we're good," John answered.

"Alrighty, just let me know if you need me!" Claire told them happily before heading back to the kitchen.

John chuckled at the waitress' pep and assumption.

"What's so funny?" Lori asked, taking a bite of her salad.

"It's so nice to see people who genuinely love the show."

She smiled. "Yeah, it is."

"Speaking of the show… What do you think of the first episode?"

"I think everyone's going to love it. It really captures the essence of the past show and I think America will feel that. It's almost like going home after a long vacation. And it was so nice to see the twins again. I can't believe how old they are."

John smiled. "Yeah, it was nice seeing them again."

"I also love the references and our new lines," Lori stated before remembering something, bringing her a small smile. "Did you happen to help write the line where you question me if I'm exhausted from last night?"

"Not so fast, that's for me to know and you not to find out. Why do you ask?" John chuckled.

Lori laughed. "It just sounded like you."

"You'll find out soon enough. Until then, it's a secret," he replied mysteriously.

Lori rolled her eyes at him and smiled. He was always such a troublemaker.

"By the way, you never told me what happened with Candace," he pointed out.

"Bless her heart," Lori chuckled. "I don't know if you realized, but Candace watched you exit your trailer and say goodbye to me. It caught her off-guard; I guess you can say she caught us red-handed."

"Was I being too extreme in there?" John teased, though half-serious.

Lori rolled her eyes. "I guess she thought my hair was too messy and…"

"Wait she thought...you and I…that we..." John laughed.

Despite John's expected laughter, Lori's face remained serious. "Canoodled?" she suggested, causing John to laugh harder, "I assume so... Annnnd it probably doesn't help that my face was flushed the whole time," Lori added, blushing yet again as she fixed her hair nervously. "Also, the fact that you had lipstick on your face—"

"What? I did? No one told me!" John exclaimed with clear shock on his face, attempting to rub it off.

Lori chuckled and then paused. She leaned in and rubbed her thumb against the corner of his mouth. "There, all gone."

John could feel his heart beat faster when Lori leaned in to remove the lipstick from his face.

Lori continued, "Anyway, I know Candace means well and I want to be honest with the girls, but I just found it difficult to be honest with them when I hardly know how to be honest with myself."

John looked into Lori's eyes, "Do you know now?" he asked curiously.

Lori stayed silent for a moment, picking at her salad. "However, Jodie's the one we should watch out for," she joked, ignoring John's question. "Hiding behind trailers, searching for gossip. That girl grew up to be the troublemaker of the group," she answered with a small laugh.

John faked a smile at Lori. Although he wanted to find out how she truly felt about him, he didn't want to force the answers out of her. He just wanted her to be comfortable. "She is, isn't she? But she's still as great as ever."

Lori nodded in agreement before Claire walked back to the table.

When Claire got back, she smiled kindly at the pair. "Anything else I can do for you?" she questioned while grabbing their dishes, trying to keep her composure unlike the other times she had been at their table.

Lori and John exchanged looks before shaking their head no. Claire then left and put the dishes in the kitchen before coming back to their table with the check. "Here you go! Oh, and before you leave, would it be okay if I got a picture with you?" she asked, trying not to seem overly excited, but nearly failing.

Lori and John both smiled and said of course. Claire then reached into her apron for her phone and took a selfie with the two of them. John grabbed a napkin and took a pen out of his pocket. The two of them signed the napkin together with:

 _Thanks for the great meal and for being a wonderful fan!_

 _xoxo everyone's uncle and his wife,_

 _John Stamos and Lori Loughlin_

They then thanked their fan for being so kind and hugged her goodbye. Even though they had come across a multitude of fans throughout the years, the delight from meeting someone who enjoyed their work so much and seeing the smile they could immediately bring to their faces had always genuinely meant the world to them.

Claire went off to wipe down another table and Lori began walking to the front door.

John paused in place for a moment to think and then decided to walk over to Claire.

John leaned toward her. "One day, she will be my wife," he whispered, pulling out a $100 bill from his wallet and sticking it in her apron. He then quickly hurried to catch up with Lori and still managed to hold the door open for her. Meanwhile, a stunned look remained glued on Claire's face as she watched the scene unfold.

John walked Lori to her car before heading off to his. They turned to look into each other's eyes.

"Well, this is it," Lori stated with a small smile.

Lori's smile naturally brought a smile to John. "I guess so," he answered.

There was a sudden tension between them. They stood there for a minute before Lori gave in and decided to go in for a hug. When they pulled away, John looked into her eyes and Lori wanted nothing more than for him to kiss her, but she knew that shouldn't and wouldn't happen after everything that happened that night.

"I guess I should get going then," Lori finally interrupted so that nothing drastic would happen.

"I guess so," John repeated.

They smiled at each other and said their goodbyes before going to their respective cars and driving away.

* * *

Once Lori pulled into her driveway, she decided to check her phone. One of her missed notifications was from Mossimo.

 _Why not? Shouldn't you be finished with filming by now? Don't tell me you're off with John. He's a great friend, but he worries me sometimes._

Lori stared at the text for a moment. _He should just be understanding about my work and be more confident in our marriage…_ she thought to herself. Lori then put her phone back in her purse and walked into her house.

Lori closed the door behind her and walked into the kitchen to grab a glass of water.

"Hey mom!" her daughters called out. Bella was doing her homework on the kitchen table while Olivia was watching TV in the living room.

"Hey girls," Lori greeted her daughters with a smile. "It's 11pm. Make sure you finish whatever you're doing and head off to sleep." The girls chorused a yes in response.

A few minutes later, Lori walked upstairs to her bedroom. To her relief, Mossimo was already asleep in bed, and Lori made sure to quietly get into her pajamas and lay on her respective side of the bed, distanced from him.


	4. Chapter 4: War of the Jealous

The next two weeks were quiet. John flirted a lot less and somehow that only made Lori think about him more. They hadn't filmed a scene since the first episode, but John was on set everyday taking care of producer duties and Lori popped in every so often to support the girls. However, it seemed like in passing John did his best to avoid Lori whenever possible. She was upset she had ruined their last dinner together but it needed to be said. Things were complicated. There was just one problem: Lori thought if she placed boundaries with John, her feelings would go away. She was wrong. There was nothing she could ever do to get rid of her feelings for John.

Lori felt almost defeated by their situation and regretted ever having the conversation with John to begin with. She didn't want John pining after her, but at the same time she missed his flirting, his touches, the way he looked into her eyes with such meaning. After all, she was a grown woman; she could handle herself, right? She could handle his beautiful eyes, his perfect hair, that gorgeous smile, and the way he looked at her as if she were the only one in the room, without getting too tangled up in what's appropriate between them and what's not… or at least she hoped she could.

She shook the thought out of her head as she got dressed. Upon finishing her hair and makeup, she looked in the mirror. There was something missing. Then she realized what it was. She rummaged through her jewelry box and found it: the necklace John had bought her twenty-seven years ago. She hooked it on, adjusted it, and then looked in the mirror. Perfect. _If that doesn't catch his interest, I don't know what will_ , she thought to herself before heading to the kitchen. But did she even want to catch his interest? She didn't know herself.

She fixed herself a cup of coffee and then grabbed another thermos and made one for John. She still owed him from the last filming and she thought it would win back his charming smile that she missed.

* * *

Lori arrived a couple minutes early in hopes of catching John before shooting started, but he was nowhere to be found. She took a seat to the side as she sat there scrolling through Twitter and sipping her coffee in an effort to look busy.

"Hola Lori!" Andrea greeted almost too enthusiastically, coming up behind her and sitting down, causing Lori to jump. Andrea laughed.

"Good morning," Lori greeted.

"So," Andrea started casually, "are you going to tell me or are you going to make me ask?"

"What?" Lori asked, confused.

"What's going on with you and loverboy? I heard through the grapevine you two were caught playing tonsil hockey in his trailer."

 _Oh my gosh, I'm going to kill Candace and Jodie._

Lori couldn't help but blush at the accusation. "I'll have you know that is _not_ what happened," she answered nonchalantly. "John and I were just going over the 'Forever' scene together. He wanted to surprise me and he did."

From the look on Andrea's face, she wasn't buying it. "Don't lie to me. He surprised you in more ways than one, didn't he?" she laughed.

Lori laughed too. "No, I swear. He kissed me but it was in the context of our lines, nothing more. But then he was called to work and all Candace saw was me leaving his trailer with my hair all messy and blushing. And then I caught Jodie sneaking and spying on us too. Which one of them told you?"

"Oh no, I'm sworn to secrecy!" Andrea replied, getting up and slowly backing away.

Lori laughed. "Don't worry, it's okay. Just please don't tell anyone else okay? I don't want this spreading any more than it already has."

"My lips are sealed! I was never here," Andrea agreed, turning to walk away and then quickly turning back. "Loverboy at twelve o'clock," she warned Lori in a whisper before finally leaving.

Lori quickly turned, excited to see John, but when she did, she also saw a woman that looked half his age on his arm. She immediately regretted turning around because she knew that, if she hadn't, maybe there was a chance they wouldn't even had noticed her and they wouldn't have to get into an awkward conversation.

The sound of John and the mystery woman's giggling sounded like nails screeching against a chalkboard to Lori. The laughter gradually ended when they stopped in front of her.

"Why, good morning Loughlin," John said with a cheesy grin on his face. Lori watched as John moved his arm, wrapping it around the woman's waist. Within seconds, he was softly caressing her hip, causing the woman to giggle and Lori to shudder.

"Good morning Stamos, and… who's your beautiful, _very young_ friend?" Lori faked a smile as she turned to look at the brunette. "You must be the woman John's been seeing."

"Yes, sure am!" she replied cheerily. "I'm Juliette."

Lori snickered. "Oh, so you're the _new_ Juliette to his Romeo."

Juliette smiled, not catching on to Lori's insult. "That's me. I'm sure John's told you a lot about me."

"No, no not really," Lori responded truthfully through her teeth, the fake smile growing even faker by the second, "But it's fantastic to meet you, Juliette."

"Don't worry, I talk about you all the time, it's just normally when she's acting," John assured Juliette and shot Lori a _'seriously?'_ look.

Lori shrugged John's reaction off, and simply chuckled at his response. "There are a _ton_ of scenes I'm not in and a ton of times I could have heard about her," she refuted.

Juliette could suddenly feel the tension in the atmosphere. She looked from John to Lori and then back to John, uncomfortable and confused. "I, erm…" she stammered, at a loss for words.

"Hey, look who it is, it's Bob and Dave! We should go talk to them," John declared, trying to edge his way out of the awkward conversation. He tugged his girlfriend's hand in their direction. The three of them could hear them call out "Hey Juliette!" showing that John had truly mentioned her to the other cast members.

"Well, it was nice finally meeting you!" Juliette yelled out to Lori before she was completely gone.

"Yeah, you too…" Lori breathed out. As she watched John confidently show his girlfriend off, give her a kiss on her cheek, and naturally secure his arm back around her waist, Lori could feel her heart fall to the bottom of her chest.

Lori stood there confused with herself and the situation. She knew she didn't want anything to go further and nothing should go further than a close friendship with John, but for some reason as she watched him be happy and affectionate with Juliette, she could feel her heart shatter. It felt like the place in John's heart that had been reserved for Lori all these years was being given to someone else, and that simply was not allowed in her mind. And while that may make her seem selfish, Lori just couldn't stand the idea of John loving anyone more than he loved her.

In attempt to put her mind back at ease, Lori grabbed a muffin off the snack table. She took one bite before helplessly looking back at the couple. It appeared that they were mid-conversation, but Juliette caved into John's charm and couldn't help but full-on make out with him, leaving Dave and Bob to awkwardly exit the scene. John's arms wrapped around her waist, Juliette's around his neck, and their bodies pressed together. The sight made Lori sick to her stomach.

It took a few seconds for Lori to acknowledge Jodie's whispered "Hey, are you okay?" Lori looked at Jodie and found Andrea and Candace in the background chatting and looking pitifully at her.

Instead of responding, Lori crumpled the muffin she had in her hand, threw it on the snack table, and made a dash for her trailer. She slammed the door behind her and tried to keep tears from streaming down her cheeks as she went to sit on the couch.

Lori placed her and John's coffee thermoses on the side table. She stared at John's thermos, shaking her head. She couldn't believe she wanted to treat him special… she could've just given coffees to the whole cast. Why didn't she? Why did she want to catch John's attention?

Lori sat on the couch for nearly ten minutes, trying to recollect herself. So many questions ran through her head: what was she doing? Why was she acting this way? She was the one who told him to back off, but why is she wishing he hadn't? Why is it so painful watching someone else make him happy? Shouldn't she be happy for him?

Lori sighed to herself. Eventually, her eyes fell to her wedding ring. She thought for a moment before pulling her phone out of her purse. She realized she hadn't been spending enough time with her husband since filming started and she wanted to ease his worries about her relationship with John… after all, they were just coworkers and close friends. There was _nothing_ to worry about.

 _Hey honey, I miss you. Do you want to bring my lunch to set today?_

 _I love you and hope to see you soon!_

Lori pressed send and then let out a breath. After a moment of thinking, she smiled, knowing a visit from her husband could make her feel more secure and happy. Mossimo had yet to visit the set and with John kissing someone in-between takes, why shouldn't she?

 _Of course, I'll be there in fifteen. I love you too!_

Lori smiled. Mossimo did love her with all of his heart. Then, she felt guilty. If he loved her with all of his heart, shouldn't she love him with all of hers? No matter what, there was a piece of her heart reserved only for John and there always would be. Just then, she got a text alerting her it was time for her first scene.

The intro scene had passed and Candace and Lori were back on a short break. Candace went to grab a drink while Lori sneakily tucked the necklace into her shirt. She didn't want Mossimo to see her wearing it.

A few minutes passed before Candace heard a voice from behind her.

"Have you seen Lori?"

She turned around to see who it was. "Oh, hi Mossimo! I think I just saw her head to her trailer."

"I'm right here," Lori corrected before looking over and noticing John and Juliette were to the side laughing and kissing.

"Hey honey!" she greeted Mossimo loud enough to get John's attention from across the room as she walked up and kissed him. After a second, Mossimo started to pull back, but Lori opened her eyes and noticed John's glare from across the room and quickly pulled him back in, letting the kiss linger for a bit longer than they were used to.

After a moment, Lori finally pulled away and Mossimo gave her a look, suspicious of what had just happened.

Candace looked at the two of them, confused. "Well, it was nice seeing you again, Mossimo," she said politely, "but I have to go work on my next scene, so I'll just leave you two alone!"

Once Candace left, Mossimo lifted the bagged lunches in front of Lori's eyes. "Ready for lunch, hun?"

In the corner of her eye, Lori could see John still staring at the two of them. "Sure am!" Lori answered, giving Mossimo one last peck on the lips before grabbing her bagged lunch and leading him to one of the sitting rooms nearby.

John watched the scene unfold in front of him, causing him to be oblivious to everything else in his surroundings.

"John, helllooo?" Juliette waved her hand in front of his eyes. "What is up with you?"

It took John a few seconds to process Juliette's words. Still, he didn't answer her as he kept his eye on Lori and Mossimo.

Once they were completely out of sight, John finally looked back at Juliette. "Yeah, sorry. Everything's fine."

John then turned to Bob and Dave who were a short distance away from them. "Hey, isn't one of Lori's scenes coming up?" He didn't even give them a chance to answer before he abandoned Juliette to go and talk to the director.

A moment later, Lori could hear, "Lori to stage, Lori to stage," causing her to instinctively drop her apple down and stand up. Mossimo sighed. He had been excited to finally have a meal with his wife, but their lunch had only lasted a few minutes before it was interrupted.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, I'll be back in a bit," Lori assured him, giving him a kiss on the cheek before walking back to set.

On her way back to the stage, Lori could see John and Juliette in the corner of her eye. Unlike before, John's arms were crossed against his chest, watching Lori, as Juliette was leaning her back against the wall, texting on her phone. The sight caused Lori to smirk.

* * *

When Lori finished with her scene, she rushed back to the sitting room so she could finish her lunch with Mossimo. She had no idea that it had already been forty minutes and he was long finished with his meal.

"I'm sorry it took so long," she apologized, closing the door to the window-walled room. Mossimo smiled sadly, standing up and throwing his trash away.

"Wait, where are you going?" she asked him worriedly.

"Lori, I have to get to work, I'm sorry," Mossimo answered. He then turned to look out the transparent wall and found John standing alone, watching them from a distance. He looked down and thought for a minute, before pulling Lori toward him and pressing his lips against hers. They stayed that way for a moment before he finally pulled away.

"Was that convincing?" Mossimo muttered angrily, glaring into Lori's eyes. He then walked out the door, leaving a befuddled Lori behind.

"Honey!" Lori attempted to call out, but he didn't stop. Instead, he continued walking to the exit of the set.

Lori gave up and sat down, defeated, her head in her hands.

After a second, she looked up and saw John watching her through the window; he most definitely saw the entire thing.

When she made eye contact with him, John took it as a sign to join her.

He knocked on the door even though it was open. "Can I come in?" he asked softly.

Lori took a deep breath and tried to hide the disappointment she was feeling. "Can't really stop you, can I?"

John faked a smile. "Not really," he answered, taking a seat next to her.

"Where's Juliette?" She sounded a little more harsh than she had anticipated.

"Juliette had to leave. She had to pick up one of her old high school friends from the airport whom she hasn't seen in awhile."

"You mean since last year's graduation?" Lori spouted out sarcastically.

John laughed. "Make all the jokes you want. You're upset. You deserve it."

Lori half-smiled at his response before looking down at the floor.

After a moment, John finally broke the silence.

"So...what's wrong...trouble in paradise?" he questioned. "Because, you know, if it doesn't work out between the two of you…"

Lori looked up at him angrily. She had thought she wanted to get his attention, but now that she had it, she was irate by his accusation.

"What did I tell you about the flirting, John? Do you listen to anything I say? And I don't think that's really any of your business, but I'll have you know we're very happy." Lori stood up. "How dare you judge my marriage when you have not once experienced real happiness," she snapped at him, defending her relationship.

John was a little taken aback by her reaction but nonetheless continued.

"Then riddle me this: why were you sitting here, trying not to cry when I walked in? I know you better than you think, Lori," John argued, defending his earlier question.

"No, John. That's where you're wrong. If you knew me at all, you wouldn't have paraded your new Barbie doll around set all day," she fought back from the doorway as the director called her name. "I've got to go," she gritted through her teeth.

"What's wrong?" Candace immediately questioned upon seeing Lori. She had obviously noticed the change in Lori's demeanor and it worried her.

"Nothing, let's just do this." Lori uttered, plastering a smile on her face as she took her place on set.

Lori could feel John's eyes watching her as she acted in her scene. It added more pressure, but ended up pushing Lori to work harder. In return, watching Lori act with so much passion only made her more appealing to John.

* * *

Once the scene was finished, Lori had a five minute break before the final scene of the episode was to be filmed. She walked off the stage and tried to walk past John, but he grabbed her hand firmly in his before she could escape, and she melted by his touch.

"Can we talk?" he whispered.

"No, John," she muttered back, although she remained stopped in place, her hand resting in his. She was turned toward the production staff while John was looking at the set.

"Listen," John continued anyway, "I just brought her here so I could give us space. I thought it would make you happy to see me moving on."

Lori could feel her heart pounding. "Well… are you?"

"She's sexy, fun, and a great kisser," John admitted, causing Lori to roll her eyes. "But you're all of those things and more. You're the only woman I've ever and will ever want to spend my life with. But you're also the one woman that I can't have."

Lori then dropped their hands and turned to look back at John. She looked into his eyes. "Why did you have to go around kissing her and showing her off? You two were acting like two obnoxious high schoolers— and in front of the kids!"

John raised his eyebrows, "What about you and Mossimo? You two have been married for seventeen years; no marriage involves that much tongue unless it's Jesse and Becky's."

"You don't know, maybe our marriage has more spice than Jesse and Becky's!" Lori yelled in a hushed whisper.

After a moment, they both chuckled, knowing that no marriage could compete with theirs. The moment was only brief, however, before they got back to being serious.

"Anyway, you really shouldn't parade your 'love' for Juliette in front of the kids. It's repulsive," Lori demanded.

John walked a bit closer to Lori. She could feel his breath on hers, causing her heart to beat faster. "And you shouldn't make your marriage out to be something it isn't," he murmured softly back.

John's voice sent a shiver up Lori's spine. It took her a second to process what he had said and shoot him a glare in response.

They stared into each other's eyes for a moment before the director called out, "Okay, places everyone!" causing Lori and John to snap back to reality and walk back on stage.

Lori walked to the living room set and stood alongside Candace, Jodie, and Andrea, while John passed them and stood outside the door to the house. Lori took a moment to adjust her necklace so it showed.

They were cued to start the scene, and garnered more laughs as each 'suspect' for who sent the mystery roses came onto set. Lori's character Becky announced each one as they came into the living room. She took command of the room, excited to figure out the mystery that had been unraveling all episode.

Becky had taken control, ordering the three men to sit.

"Dr. Matt Harmon, did you or did you not give flowers to DJ Fuller?" Lori began.

"I did," DJ's love interest, Matt, answered.

"See, I told you he sent me the roses!" Candace's character, DJ, claimed.

"Oh, I didn't send these."

"Wait you just said—" DJ interrupted.

"Oh, oh, oh, hold on, I'm running this show," Becky butted in. Lori absolutely loved acting in this episode—Becky was so passionately into gossiping and finding answers. Her character claimed there hadn't been this much fun and drama in her life in years.

Once DJ's son, Max, brought in Cosmo and the items their dog had stolen, they had found the card and the three men gradually admitted to not being the man who sent the flowers. This confused Lori's character.

"But we still haven't found the secret admirer!" Becky declared.

"Hey now!" John finally walked into the living room with a big grin on his face. DJ, Stephanie, and Kimmy immediately went and hugged Uncle Jesse.

"Beck, I see you got my roses!" he finally announced. As John looked at her. he immediately noticed the necklace. He couldn't believe it. Lori still had it all these years later.

"These are from you?" Becky looked at Jesse, shocked.

"Yeah, you'd think I would have got a 'thank you' call, or a text, or a thumbs-up emoji or something," Jesse replied before smiling and looking into Becky's eyes.

Everyone could immediately feel the special chemistry between John and Lori radiate throughout the room.

"Oh honey, I love them. They're beautiful, but what are they for?"

"As a thank you…" John began, bringing his hands into Lori's and looking deeply into her eyes, "for getting to wake up next to you every morning and fall in love with you all over again."

Everyone, including Lori, went into a chorus of "aww's." Lori and John both smiled before going into a kiss.

When they kissed, Lori could feel her heart beat faster. She knew in her mind that they were only supposed to kiss for a second, but once her lips met John's, she could feel herself melt into the kiss. Plus, she knew the camera could pan to the girls and they could cut the kiss short, so why not kiss the charming man longer? She was so caught up in the moment, she simply couldn't help herself. She was helplessly entranced by the man. Somehow everything else that happened that day had faded away.

John eventually pulled away and Lori, slowly remembering her surroundings, could feel her heart skip a beat.

"And for that, for the good kissing," Jesse added with a wink. Lori had to hold in a laugh. Somehow she knew that John himself got permission to write that line into the script.

Becky and Jesse looked into each other's eyes and grinned for one more moment before carrying on with the rest of the scene.

Aunt Becky said goodbye to the girls before walking back to the door with Jesse.

"I hope the seats fold down on that rental," she whispered to him, holding his arm.

"Have mercyyy!" Jesse exclaimed with his infamous catchphrase.

Becky laughed, "Not for us! I wanna get all these flowers in the car."

"Ugh, I should have rented a bus."

"Everyone, grab a bouquet!" Becky announced.

"Grab a bouquet," Jesse repeated to the girls and their respective partners.

* * *

The scene then finished and John and Lori exited the stage.

As Lori left, she hid her necklace again. She had originally wanted to make it a surprise for John, but now he'd have to wait until he saw it on the show.

"Lori, wait!" John called from behind her as she was on the way to her trailer.

She stopped and turned around. "What?"

"I can't believe you still have that," he breathed, catching up to her.

"What?" she asked, confused.

"The necklace. You kept it after all these years?"

Lori touched the necklace and nodded.

"I thought you said you lost all of the memorabilia from _Full House_?"

"I did, sadly, but this wasn't from _Full House_. It was from you. You gave it to me to welcome me to the show. I always kept it in a safe place."

"I just… I can't believe you kept it after all this time…

"Of course I did. I've kept everything you've given me. I even still have that bear you won me on our d—you won me at Disneyland," Lori quickly corrected herself.

"You were going to say date!" John pointed out excitedly.

"I was not! You made me lose my train of thought."

"Well, I do have that effect on people…"

Lori laughed at John and a smile arose to her face.

"Look at that, I made you smile and you forgot how mad you were at me," he pointed out happily, commenting on earlier.

"You always did manage to charm your way out of things," Lori replied sweetly with a smile. A tint of red couldn't help but fall on her face.

"I hope I'm not overstepping, but do you mind if we talk privately?" John asked.

Lori thought for a moment.

"Okay, but this time, _my_ trailer."


	5. Chapter 5: Anything Goes

"You want some coffee?" Lori offered as she turned the coffee maker on.

"Yeah, that'd be great," John answered, making himself at home and taking a seat on the couch.

"What's this?" he wondered, eyeing the still full thermos on the table.

"Well, I originally made some for you this morning, but you were too busy with Juliette, so I never had a chance to give it to you…" she explained slightly awkwardly. "It's cold now, but I'm making more," she continued to explain as she sat down beside him.

"Oh, thanks. It's the thought that counts anyway. I appreciate it," John thanked her, liking the idea of her thinking of him that morning.

There was a small silence before John started, "Look, I'm sorry—"

"No, let me go first…" Lori started, cutting him off. "I'm sorry for acting so irrational today. I had no right to yell at you like that. I just got defensive—"

"It was my fault. I brought Juliette here on purpose. You were right. I know I said I didn't earlier, but I did. I wanted to make you jealous, and I shouldn't have. I promised to leave my personal life outside the studio and I failed."

The coffee timer dinged and Lori walked over to pour them both a cup. She walked back, handed one to John, and sat back down.

He smiled. "Thanks," he replied, taking a sip.

"But it wasn't your fault, you did nothing wrong. I'm sorry," John continued. "And you're right, I was an asshole. I should have never said those things about your marriage."

Lori shook her head. "It's okay, we both got heated. And I never called you that and never will. Plus…you weren't entirely wrong about my motives…"

John raised an eyebrow. "Really? Was someone jealous?"

Lori laughed and playfully smacked him on the arm. "Shut up."

"Ooh, I succeeded in making the sexy Lori Loughlin jealous! Score one for Stamos," John teased playfully.

"Wipe that grin off your face," Lori laughed cutely. "Any respected woman would be jealous of the woman standing next to John Stamos," she stated, sipping her coffee shyly.

"Ah, but I succeeded in making Miss Lori Anne Loughlin jealous and that makes all the difference," John declared, naturally placing his hand on Lori's thigh.

Lori looked up from her coffee mug and blushed a bright red. She looked up into John's eyes before they soon fell to his lips. She gulped as she bit her lip and could feel them both leaning in. Lori forced herself to stop and stand up. She walked to the other side of the trailer, across from John.

There was a tensioned silence between them before John looked to the left of Lori, spotting a small table by her vanity.

"Wow," he murmured.

Lori looked around, confused. "What?"

"Those roses. You still have them?"

"Oh, of course, you gave them to me," Lori answered, a small smile coming to her face.

John noticed a trend and instinctively smiled back at her.

"I don't know if I properly thanked you for giving me such a beautiful gift…" Lori started, walking back to John and standing in front of him.

She held his hands in hers. "Thank you." She hesitated for a moment, but decided to give John a small peck on the cheek.

"You're very welcome," John replied sweetly, looking into Lori's eyes before giving her a kiss on her hand. He then rubbed his thumb against hers.

"And I can't believe you remembered my favorite type of flower," Lori continued.

"'51 flowers for our favorite fun girl, hashtag Happy Birthday Becky.'" John recited the caption he posted of their picture with Bob and Dave behind them. In the picture, Lori's hand was comfortably and secretly pressed against his.

"'Happy Birthday LoriLoughlin, love you Lori,'" Lori continued, remembering what John had posted on his twitter page that same day, "dedicating my whole social platform to my favorite fun girl...' And you even attached a picture of us from the early 90s," she recalled, a grin on her face.

Lori continued looking deeply into John's eyes. "Why must you be so darn charming?" she asked him.

"Because that way, I can see that beautiful smile on your face," he poked her nose playfully and answered without hesitation. He then took her hands back in his, and swung them in between the two of them.

 _It's no wonder women everywhere fall for this man._

Lori smiled. "You know, you don't always have to be so irresistible. It burdens women when you make their hearts flutter all the time and they can't do anything about it."

"Well, what can I say? John Stamos doesn't want to be resisted."

Lori scrunched her face up in disgust. "You did not just say that," she smirked. "How nauseating."

"Hey, take that back," John laughed in response.

"Never," Lori chuckled.

"Take it back!" he exclaimed, still laughing as he tickled Lori's stomach playfully.

"Nope," she denied, the laughter only continuing.

"Don't make me chase you around set like I did on your birthday!"

Lori narrowed her eyes at him. "If that means it'll end with you lifting me up into a back hug, I may take you up on that offer," she teased.

"You don't need an excuse for me to hug you. If you want one, all you have to do is ask," John reminded her, flashing one of his famous smiles.

Lori blushed harder, if that were even possible.

"Anyway…" Lori forced out, changing the subject as she sat back down. "Once again, I'm really sorry for everything today. Seeing you with her just felt a lot different than I expected. It's hard for me to watch you love someone else. But that's not my place, I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it, but just so you know, I never said I loved her," John assured her, looking into her eyes.

Lori gazed back at him in silent understanding of what that meant.

"Let's just agree: no more trying to make each other jealous," John announced.

Lori laughed. "So you admit I made you jealous too?"

"I'll always be jealous of the man who was smart enough to never let you go…" He paused. "Anyway, no more talk about what happened. What's done is done. I'm sorry. You're sorry. Everything's okay. Are we good?"

Lori nodded.

"Good, now let's talk more about this you-keeping-everything-I-ever-gave-you thing," John suggested with a smile.

Lori laughed. "What do you want to know?"

"You kept that bear from when we were 18?" he looked at Lori, amazed.

Lori smiled and nodded. "I was actually 17," she corrected.

"How did you manage to keep up with that and lose almost all of the _Full House_ memorabilia?" John inquired, knowing there had to be more to the story.

Lori looked at him, debating whether to explain or not.

"What?"

"I'll tell you, but you have to promise not to make any stupid comment. Deal?" Lori ensured.

John raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Ooh, this must be good," he teased.

Lori shook her head at him. "Nevermind, I won't tell you."

"No, no, I'm sorry. I promise. Tell me. Pleaseee?" John begged cutely.

Lori laughed. He was such a child sometimes.

"Okay fine," she replied, giving in. "I kept it on my bed. Are you happy?"

John smirked and Lori picked up the pillow on the couch and hit him playfully.

"Hey! I didn't even say anything!"

Lori laughed. "Your look said it all. Anything else you're curious about?"

"A few things."

"Hold that thought," Lori interjected, getting up off the couch and walking over to the fridge, "if we're going to continue with this game of 'Twenty Questions,' I'm going to need something a lot stronger than coffee. Would you like something?"

"Sure. What do 'ya got?" he asked enthusiastically.

She laughed, catching onto the fact they were quoting the scene from season two of _Full House_ where Aunt Becky and Uncle Jesse meet for the first time.

"What do 'ya like?" she replied, reciting the next line.

"Whatever you have," John answered before they both burst out laughing from quoting the show.

"I actually have wine or beer," Lori finally proclaimed.

"Wine, please," he responded and Lori poured them both a glass before rejoining him on the couch.

"Alright, hit me," she dared, handing him his glass and taking a drink from hers.

"Actually, I just asked you one, so why don't you go?" John offered.

"Anything goes and we have to answer truthfully, right?" Lori inquired, clarifying the rules.

John nodded in agreement.

"You're going to regret giving me that much power," Lori replied, giggling.

"Oh, no," John laughed.

"I'm kidding. So, is there anything you kept from me after all these years?"

John laughed. " _That's_ what you use your question on?" he teased.

Lori smiled. "You didn't answer the question," she pointed out as she took another sip. She was not going to let him smooth talk his way out of this one.

"Okay, okay. You win. As a matter of fact, there is," John admitted, setting his glass down on the coffee table and pulling his wallet out of his back pocket. He turned so his body was facing Lori's and flipped his wallet open. He pulled out a tiny square that he then unfolded into a rectangle and handed to Lori. "I've kept this in my wallet since our first date."

Lori always refused to call it a date, but this time she didn't argue. Instead, Lori looked down and couldn't believe her eyes. It was the photo strip from the pictures they had taken in the photobooth at Disneyland. The pictures faded over time, but when she looked at the last two, she blushed. There was one of him kissing her on the cheek and the last one was her full on kissing him on the mouth. She had caught him off guard, she remembered.

"I can't believe…"

"That you kissed me first? Yeah, see, I told you all these years it was a date."

Lori shook her head. "No, that you have this. Why… how?"

"Oh no, you already asked one question. Now it's my turn," John argued.

"John…" she pleaded, looking into his eyes, her fingers tracing the picture in her hands.

"Okay, I guess I'll break the rules just this once," he gave in, taking the picture back from her, holding it in his hands as he explained.

"I originally put it in my wallet when we were at the park to keep it safe, but after that date I couldn't stop thinking about you. You were different than all of the other girls I went on dates with. You were special. You were beautiful and smart and unpredictable. You were the only girl who was able to keep me on my toes and put me in my place when you needed to. And the moment you kissed me, I felt something I'd never felt before. I couldn't get you out of my head. I was just too young and stupid to do anything about it then and we didn't live in the same city. Every time I went to change wallets, I just moved it to the new one. It reminded me of you and that one day we'd end up together... or at least I thought we would," he looked up at her, sadly.

"John…" she murmured, putting her hand on his leg.

"It's okay," he assured as he smiled a fake half-smile.

"I'm so sorry," she apologized.

"It wasn't your fault… So... about that bear on your bed?" he questioned, changing topics.

" _That's_ what you waste _your_ question on?" she mocked him from earlier as she smiled, thankful to be on a somewhat lighter note.

"What? I'm curious," he insisted.

"You winning that bear for me that night was always my fondest memory of you."

"Even more than the kissing?" he teased.

Lori laughed and nodded. "It was just so sweet and your intentions were so pure. You were so determined to win it and you were up against all of those other guys. You should have seen the look on your face. I always felt so secure in that moment, like you would have done absolutely anything and everything to make me happy. When I went back to New York, I thought it was over. That I was never going to see you again and it wasn't even because something dramatic happened between us. It was just due to timing. I kept the bear on my bed as sort of a comfort thing. I slept with it every night. It made me feel safe, like no matter what happened, everything was going to be okay because that's how I felt that night with you." She paused for a moment and then decided to let him in on a little secret. "It's funny because it had become such a habit that whenever I made the bed I always set the bear right in the middle. When Bella was born, she used to steal it off my bed and wouldn't fall asleep unless I laid it in her crib. The same thing happened when I had Olivia. They had so many toys and stuffed animals of their own, I never understood why they were so entranced by it, but I always thought it was because somehow they knew how much it meant to their mom."

He gazed into her eyes in disbelief. "I never knew it meant that much to you…" he murmured.

"Well," Lori looked down at their hands, a small smile coming to her face as she slightly stroked her finger against his leg and looked back into John's eyes, "you mean a lot to me."

He smiled, "You mean a lot to me too." He wanted nothing more than to kiss her right then and there but he forced himself to resist the temptation.

They sat there for a moment in silence, just looking into each other's eyes.

"It's your turn," John reminded, breaking the silence.

Lori snapped back to reality, but thought for a moment about how to word her question.

"Are you okay?" John asked, concerned.

"Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking," Lori apologized. "Anything's on the table?"

John nodded. "Anything," he repeated.

Lori then looked at him. "Why didn't you tell me back then that you loved me?"

John looked away, grabbed his glass and downed a big gulp before looking back at Lori. "We weren't ever official. It was sorta dating. We had that one date when we were teenagers and uh, I was this young hotshot. I always had one foot out the door. You were the only girl I ever loved. But I didn't know what I was doing. And then you left and I didn't think I'd ever see you again, like you said. Then we were cast on _Full House_ and all I could think was it was fate. I couldn't believe you had resurfaced in my life. Of all the people they could have cast for those roles, it just had to be us. But by that time, you were married. I didn't want to overstep. When your divorce came, I wanted to respect it. We had one week where things could have happened, and I didn't want to just swoop in. I felt like it was a bad time. I thought the timing was all wrong. I thought that I had forever. And shortly after, I met Rebecca and I didn't think it would get serious, but it did. And you had Mossimo and that also did. I guess I thought at some point the relationships would end and that's when I'd make my move. But that's the thing about timing. It's delay, delay, delay and then suddenly it's too late. You married Mossimo. I married Rebecca. And I never told you because I didn't see the point. Since then, you've been so happy. You deserve to be happy, Lori. You were so amazing—you still are. I was this young kid that made a bunch of mistakes. I didn't deserve you. I still don't."

Lori was taken aback by his words. Everyone thought of John as a huge ladies man, not really ever falling hard for a woman or wanting to settle down. While she knew John to be so much more than that, at the same time, it made her feel special that he thought that way about her.

"Why would you think that you don't deserve me?" Lori asked softly, looking deeply into his eyes.

"As cliché as it sounds… You're perfect in every single way, Lori. I realized this the first time I met you when we were teenagers and I still know it to this day. You make me a better man and always have," John answered without hesitation. He paused for a moment, let out a breath, and then stood up.

John walked up to a window in front of them and looked outside.

"If I hadn't wasted all those chances I could have been with you, Lori…" he sighed before pausing again. "The world wouldn't know me to be some sex-symbol player who sleeps around, able to get any woman he can… I wouldn't be considered 'unromantic' or 'not willing to settle down.' I would have put you on a pedestal: I would have been romantic with you. I would have settled down with you. Every time I'd wake up, I'd give you and our family the world."

Lori looked at John before her eyes fell to the ground. She was at a loss for words.

"I erm…" John started, turning his eyes to the ground. He glanced back at Lori before walking past her. "I should probably get going."

"John, wait—" Lori called out loudly, a lump caught in her throat.

But John was already out the door before he could even react.

* * *

"There you are! We've been looking all over for you!" Candace exclaimed to John. She, Andrea, and Jodie were leaning against Candace's trailer across from Lori's and seemed to have been there for awhile.

John simply shook his head at the women, walking past them in a hurry.

"Damnnnn," Jodie uttered.

"Wow," Andrea added.

"Oh my lanta," Candace finished. "That was weird."

"And to think we spent three hours waiting out here for this," Jodie interjected.

* * *

Once John had left her trailer, Lori walked back to the roses he had given her weeks back. She leaned in to smell them and without realizing, a small smile arose on her face. She thought for a moment and slid her hand underneath the small, circular cloth the vase was resting on. Lori pulled out an envelope.

The lines in the script of the "War of the Roses" episode they had just filmed derived from the note John had written in the birthday card to Lori.

"Happy birthday, Lori," the card read, "I'm forever thankful for getting to wake up every morning and fall in love with you all over again."

Lori smiled softly, sliding the card back in its envelope and underneath the cloth.

She and John had vowed to keep the note and line a secret between the two of them.


	6. Chapter 6: Interruptions & Eruptions

John awoke the next morning with what seemed to be the biggest migraine. He rubbed his head before turning to his other side. For a moment, he was scared he had gotten drunk the night before, so to find empty space next to him was relieving to the actor. Getting in bed with a woman - even if it was Juliette - would be a big mistake considering everything that had been unraveling between him and Lori.

He quickly got ready to go to set. As usual, he brewed himself a cup of coffee before exiting his house and getting into his car.

* * *

When he stopped on set, multiple people were trying to talk to him at once. The migraine was as painful as ever and he had chosen to ignore them and simply ask if they had seen Lori. They all responded that they hadn't heard that she was coming to set that day, and John quickly moved on and went to talk to the other producers.

From a distance, Bob and Dave watched John as clear distress oozed out of him. The men weren't acting in the episode being filmed that day. Bob had simply decided to pass by on his way to another location… Dave just wanted more doughnuts.

"What do you think is going on with him today?" Bob asked Dave as he fed the baby playing Tommy his breakfast.

"It probably has something to do with Lori," Dave replied as he took another big bite into his donut. "The three girls have been running like wildebeests all over set, trying to get the deets on those two."

Bob frowned. "Do you think we should talk to him about it? He was heartbroken the first time around, I assume it can only be worse now."

"Oh no, we shouldn't meddle. Not again."

Bob shot him a look.

"Fine…" he reluctantly agreed. He went to the trashcan to throw his doughnut away, but then changed his mind and crammed it into his mouth as he followed Bob on his quest to find John.

* * *

Lori had the worst headache as she woke up. She had completely forgotten to check on Mossimo after their fight the day before and when she had gotten home he didn't let her forget what happened. She had apologized almost a hundred times and cried so much that she could still feel her eyes swollen from the night before. He had finally let it go, but they still weren't on very good terms that morning.

She looked in the mirror and sighed. It was going to take so much makeup to hide the fact she had cried, but she had already promised the girls that she would visit the set, and John couldn't see her like this.

* * *

"John…" Bob called out to John as he paced back and forth, talking on his earpiece.

"Hold on one minute," John said into the earpiece before looking at Bob and Dave. "Guys, I really don't have time for this right now," he told them, annoyed.

"It's important," Bob insisted.

"Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Got it," John finished talking into his earpiece before switching it off.

"I have fifteen minutes. Go," he ordered.

"Sit down. We all need to talk," Bob announced as they all took a seat around the coffee table.

* * *

Lori poured herself coffee before walking to the door. Her hand was on the handle until she suddenly heard a voice from behind her.

"Where do you think you're going?"

She could feel her fingers instinctively grip around her thermos as her other hand slowly fell to her side.

"Work," Lori answered simply, not turning around.

"I know you're not filming an episode today, Lori."

Lori didn't know how to respond. She looked down at the ground for a moment before finally turning around to look at Mossimo.

"I'm not dumb. You're going to the studio to see John," he told her, his stern facial expression unchanged.

"I promised the girls I would spend time with them today. Honest."

Lori had told the truth, but she knew her husband still wouldn't believe her.

Mossimo looked into Lori's eyes, clear disappointment in his. He was undoubtedly angry, but part of him somehow felt pity for her. "Take a day to rest. You deserve it," he said softly.

Lori continued looking into his eyes. She suddenly felt guilt rise in her. She knew she hadn't been the best wife lately and wished things could go back to how they were before _Fuller House_ filming had started. It was weird. She and John, as well as the rest of their _Full House_ family, had consistently met up since filming ended years ago. However, being back on set where it had all started and spending endless hours day after day together had reminded her of how great she and John really were together.

Reconnecting with John wasn't what had initiated the rupture of her marriage. Coming to truth with herself was.

After a second, Lori nodded at Mossimo and decided to take a seat in her living room.

"It's for the best," Mossimo called out to her before leaving for work.

* * *

"You haven't been yourself lately and we're worried about you," Bob explained, concerned.

"We know it's about Lori," Dave added.

"You're distracted all of the time. You're spending all of your extra time with Lori between scenes and it's taking a toll on you."

"Guys, is this about me missing our daily hug sessions?" John joked, trying to make fun of the situation and hide his vulnerability. "Listen, you and me, we'll sit down, we'll set a specific time for hugging… but not now," he teased, using one of his lines from the very first _Full House_ episode.

Both the men shot him looks and ignored him, causing John to raise his eyebrows.

"We're serious, John," Dave replied. "Even the girls said you haven't been the same. They saw you leaving Lori's trailer last night. They waited on you for three hours and you pushed past them when they tried to talk to you."

"Can't a man be distracted? I have had a lot on my mind," John argued.

"But you love those girls and you'd never ignore them. They're like daughters to you," Bob reminded.

Those words stung. Bob and Dave were right, they were like daughters to him. And now that they're matured women, they, at the same time, felt like sisters to him.

John paused, staring at the space in front of him. The expression he wore suddenly became serious.

"I could have had my own daughters, you know."

Dave tilted his head, confused. "Pardon?"

"With Lori," John answered, still staring ahead of him. "I could have had daughters with Lori."

Bob and Dave became silent.

"John, I hate to say this," Dave responded after a moment, "but it's time to move on. She's happily married with two beautiful teenagers. She has a grounded life. And if you truly do care about her, then you wouldn't want to take that away from her."

Bob patted John's shoulder, a sorrow expression ghosting on him. "You'll be okay. You have Juliette. And if she's not the one, there are so many other women out there who would love to be with you. You have a much better chance than Dave and me combined," he joked.

Dave, happily married, just shrugged in response.

Bob looked back at John.

"It's time for you to let her go. Completely."

John looked from Bob to Dave and then back to Bob.

"Fifteen minutes are up," John mumbled before getting up and walking away.

As John got back to his proper place next to the other producers, he couldn't get his friends' words out of his head. He knew deep down that they were right, he should let go of Lori, but it just wasn't that simple. He'd been trying for years.

* * *

Lori texted the girls and apologized for the fact she couldn't make it. She then called upstairs to her daughters and asked them if they wanted to watch a movie as a family. They happily obliged. However, as she sat on the couch minutes later, cuddled with her daughters, she couldn't get her mind off of John. Her heart was not only with her family. It was also with him.

* * *

 _Screw what the guys had to say. They don't know a thing about me and Lori_ , John thought to himself as he took a break from his producer duties and scrolled through his phone. He stopped at Lori's name. He stared at her picture before finally deciding to text her.

 _Where are you today? I miss you._

* * *

As Lori's daughters laughed at the comedic scene on screen, she could feel her phone vibrate in her pocket. She looked at both of them and tried to sneakily pull her phone out and check it. A smile arose on her face when she realized it was from John.

 _Mossimo insisted I take a "rest day." I'm with my daughters right now watching 'Sleeping With Other People.'_

John laughed, acknowledging that Lori was too innocent and naive to understand the humor behind the title.

 _Of course you're watching that,_ John teased in response. _Your husband shouldn't be so overprotective._

Lori felt her phone vibrate again.

 _He's just looking out for our marriage._ She hesitated before clicking send.

John looked at Lori's response and paused. She was right. He thought about it for a second before replying.

 _I'm just looking out for you._

At this point, Lori's eyes were glued to her phone instead of the movie. She was sitting in between her two girls with the large bowl of popcorn on her lap, fumbling with her phone as she received John's messages. She watched the phone light up again and her fingers naturally glided onto her phone's keyboard.

"Mom," Lori suddenly heard Bella say beside her, "I thought you said no phones during 'family bonding time.'" Olivia's eyes darted to her mother's phone, her eyes narrowing in curiosity.

"Yes, I did say that," Lori answered naturally. "Sorry, it was work, but I'm turning it off. You're right. This is family bonding time. All my attention is on you… and the movie."

 _Bye. Talk later._ Lori quickly typed before turning her phone off and setting it on the table.

 _Bye?_ John typed, confused, but Lori never responded.

* * *

John looked back up at the set, watching the scene before him; however, no matter how hard he tried, his mind kept going back to Lori.

* * *

As the movie ended, Lori got up to carry the bowl of leftover popcorn to the kitchen and Bella took the opportunity to grab her mom's phone. She turned it on.

"What did you girls think about the movie?" she called innocently from the kitchen.

The girls were too busy reading their mother's conversation with John to respond.

"Hello?" Lori asked. She looked over and saw the girls huddled over a cell phone. She laughed. "I guess family bonding time is over," she teased, walking back over to the couch. That's when she realized it wasn't one of their phones they had in their hands. It was hers.

"Excuse me," Lori stated sternly, yanking the phone out of Bella's hands.

"I thought you said it was work." Bella looked up at her mom, confused.

"That was John, mom," Olivia pointed out.

"Why is he talking about dad?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Family bonding is important, and so is privacy," Lori instituted, pushing her phone into her pocket. "John's a dear friend, girls. He has been for years. It's nothing to make a fuss about."

Bella and Olivia looked up at their mom worried and bewildered.

"Now," Lori continued, looking away from her daughters and going to the pantry, "who wants to bake cookies?"

The two girls gave each other a look before giving in.

Lori made sure to keep a mental note not to leave her phone out again. And to change her passcode.

* * *

7pm. Dinner time.

As Lori was cooking dinner for her kids who were diligently working on their homework and taking a small nibble from their plate of chocolate chip cookies every now and then, she couldn't help but realize that Mossimo was right. Maybe she did need a rest day. With her coming home late during the weekdays and the girls going out on the weekends, they hadn't had dinner as a whole family in weeks, and she was starting to realize how much she missed it. Regardless of everything going on, she loved her family and wanted nothing but to make them happy.

Fifteen minutes passed and the three women heard the doorbell ring.

Lori heard the sound of her daughters' footsteps rush to the door in a hurry to greet their father. It was so nice to still see her girls, as teenagers, get excited when her husband came home from work. It made Lori smile.

"How was your day?" Mossimo asked his daughters as they hugged him. When they pulled back, he reached his hand into his pocket and handed them each a $10 bill.

"This is for keeping an eye on your mother," he whispered to them.

Another fifteen minutes had passed and Lori was too caught up in her cooking to even realize that her family members were sitting in the living room and had yet to enter the kitchen.

* * *

Although Lori was excited about being back with her family again, for some reason she could feel an awkward tension at the table. She decided to brush the feeling off as her imagination and continued picking at her food.

Upon finishing her meal, Lori looked at her daughters and husband with a smile. "So, whose turn is it to wash dishes?"

"Nose game!" Olivia called out, to which Bella and even their parents played along with. Bella, much to her dismay, was the last one to touch her nose.

"Unfair!" Bella shouted out, glaring her sister down.

Olivia simply laughed at her older sister.

Lori chuckled as Mossimo finally stated, "Olivia, it's your turn to wash the dishes anyway. Go now, your sister needs to work on her college applications."

"Ugh, dad," Olivia mumbled as she got up and grabbed the plates from everyone, taking them to the sink.

Lori began walking to the stairs before realizing Mossimo hadn't gotten up yet. "Aren't you heading to bed, honey?" she asked her husband.

"I will in a minute," he replied casually.

Lori nodded, giving him a kiss on the cheek before heading upstairs.

Once Lori was out of sight, Mossimo pulled out his phone.

 _You call me overprotective, but you're the one who should be staying away from my wife._

He pressed send before getting out of his chair.

* * *

Lori shuffled through her closet before finding her favorite red silk nightie and slipping it on.

She straightened the dress as she suddenly felt arms wrap around her from behind and kiss her neck. Lori shrugged him off of her. "I'm not in the mood," she told him bluntly.

"Why not?" Mossimo asked, as if slightly offended.

"I just have a lot on my mind," Lori replied, turning away and walking over to the bed.

"Why, because I'm too 'overprotective'?" Mossimo questioned, watching as she casually moved around the room. Lori looked at him, stunned.

"Lori," he sighed, "the girls told me about your text conversation with John."

Lori paused in place. She stood there for a moment, trying to think of a response.

"He didn't mean anything by it. You know how he is. He's always joking around."

"No, he's always flirting with you."

"That's just how he is, Mossimo," Lori finally turned to face her husband. "You haven't had a problem with it before, why are you so concerned now?"

"Because you've been acting differently around me, around our family. You hesitate to even kiss me, your own husband. You watch from afar as he happily shows off the woman he's dating, and you even force me to go along with your little game." The more words he said, the more it felt real, and the more it felt real, the sadder he became.

Mossimo let out a breath and decided to sit himself at the foot of their bed.

"I just don't want to lose you, Lori," he declared softly, looking at the ground.

Lori bit her lip, guilt quickly rising in her. She went over to her husband and sat beside him.

"You'll never lose me," she assured, placing her hand on his leg and pressing her lips against his. It was only a peck, but as she pulled away and looked deeply into his eyes, she found herself leaning in and kissing him again.

For a moment, Mossimo gave into the gradually-heated kiss with the woman he was in love with; however, after a minute, he pulled away.

Mossimo stood up off the bed and grabbed his cup of tea off of his bedside table.

"Where are you going?"

"I can't do this right now. I have to be up early. I'm going to go sleep in the guest bedroom," Mossimo told her as he went over to the door and opened it.

"Mossimo, come on," Lori pleaded, feeling terrible. "I understand that you're upset, but you should also trust me enough to know I wouldn't cross any kind of line. John and I are friends. We always will be."

She could tell by the look in his eyes he didn't believe a word she was saying.

"You know I love you, right?"

"Yeah well," Mossimo declared, turning to her one last time, "clearly not enough."

* * *

John looked at the clock as he got in bed. 11pm and still no text back from Lori. His phone vibrated and he checked it.

 _Wanna come over for some fun? ;)_

It was from Juliette. John ignored it. After reading the text he had abruptly gotten from Mossimo a few hours back, he had other things on his mind and hooking up with a woman he didn't love was not one of them.

John tried to ease his heart by laying in bed and scrolling through Lori's Twitter page. The latest tweet, he discovered, was from that afternoon. He clicked on the link in the tweet, which sent him to her Instagram page.

The picture was captioned "Movie night with my two favorite girls," displaying Lori and each daughter beside her. They were all wearing smiles as they sat on the couch, throw pillows on their lap and the big bowl of popcorn on Lori's.

John smiled sadly at the picture for a few minutes before plugging his phone into his charger and placing it on the bedside table. He turned off the light and curled up in bed.

 _Maybe the guys were right…_ he thought to himself as he drifted off to sleep.


	7. Chapter 7: Just Friends

Lori slowly opened her eyes, a frown instantly rising on her face when looking at the vacant area beside her and remembering she hadn't shared her bed with her husband the night before. Without thinking, her hand was rubbing her forehead. Yet another headache... she sighed. She had spent the night tossing and turning, contemplating what she truly wanted, and she still didn't have a clue. Lori reached for her phone. She must have had at least twenty missed text messages.

 _It's okay, you deserve a day off._ A text from Candace read.

 _Lunch today?_ Andrea had sent her.

It was clear the girls had missed her the day before and Lori needed girl time after last night.

Lori then saw John's response from last night. _Bye?_

She had been so caught up with defending herself to her family that she had completely forgotten to text him back. She quickly responded "yes" to Andrea and sent John a message as well.

 _So sorry I never responded last night. It was hectic. I'll be on set in an hour._

Lori then got out of bed and got dressed so she could leave before Mossimo attempted to rehash anything from last night. She wasn't in the mood for more fighting and she still hadn't sorted through all the things she had been feeling.

* * *

As Lori arrived at the studio, she looked down at her phone for probably the thousandth time since she messaged John. He still hadn't responded, which caught Lori off-guard. _He always responds immediately_ , she thought, confused, and placed her phone back inside her purse as she walked in the studio door.

Lori greeted everyone she passed by on her way to the set. Looking around, she realized John hadn't arrived yet, so she decided to sit down and wait for him.

Minutes passed before she finally heard a voice from above her, causing a smile to naturally arise on her face. She looked up and found him speaking through his headset before clicking it back off.

"John!" Lori exclaimed excitedly, standing up and going over to him.

Instead of stopping and waiting for her to catch up, John walked faster, surprising Lori.

"John?" Lori called out again, quickening her pace and stopping in front of him. "Are you okay?" she questioned worriedly. "Did I do something?"

"No, of course you didn't do anything wrong. You're perfect," John assured, finally looking at her.

Lori smiled. "Then why are you—?"

"Lori," John's facial expression remained grim, "I got the text from your husband."

She looked at him, confused. "What?"

"The text. He basically told me to stay away from you."

"John…"

They both stayed silent for a moment. John looked into her eyes one last time before continuing to walk past her.

"John," Lori turned around swiftly and called out to him, "I had no idea!"

John didn't say another word as he walked to his Producer chair. Just then, Lori's phone rang. It was Mossimo. Lori walked over to the side, leaving John alone.

"I cannot believe you texted John," Lori answered angrily.

Mossimo was a bit startled by Lori's sudden tone, but instantly shot back, "Erm, I just feel like my wife shouldn't be messing around with other men. Is there a problem with that?"

"You should trust me! We've been together for 18 years!" Lori exclaimed in a hushed voice so the other cast members wouldn't hear her. "If I was going to leave I would have already done it."

"So now you're telling me you've thought about leaving?" Mossimo quipped.

"No, but the more we have these conversations the more I want to!" she shouted a little too loudly. "Look, I'm not having this conversation. I'm on set, I have to go, bye," she pressed end and turned to try to talk to John.

"Lori!" Andrea bounced over and distracted Lori, blocking her path. "We've been waiting for you. You're right on time. We just started eating."

Lori looked over at John one last time before following Andrea to Candace's trailer where they were all sitting.

As Lori joined Candace and Jodie, Andrea locked the door behind her, causing Lori to look back.

"We're really glad you could make it. We need to talk," Candace told her as Lori took a seat.

Lori looked at her puzzled. "What?"

"We need to talk about what's been going on," Andrea started.

"Between you and John," Jodie finished.

"Yeah, we're worried about you," Candace chimed in. Both Jodie and Andrea nodded in agreement.

Lori laughed but they all remained serious. "Wait, is this some sort of intervention?" she asked as she started picking at the omelet the women had gotten for her.

The three girls exchanged looks before looking back at Lori.

"Yes, it is," Candace said seriously.

Jodie half-smiled. "Bacon?" she asked as she picked up a piece from her plate and showed it to Lori.

Lori shook her head no. Jodie shrugged and ate it herself.

"Girls," Lori sighed, "I appreciate your support, but I don't see a reason for any kind of intervention." She chuckled nervously.

"Of course you don't think you need one," Candace began.

"Which is exactly why you do," Andrea said, finishing Candace's sentence.

"Listen Lori, we love you, and we love John. We just don't want to see anyone getting hurt after all of this—" Candace continued.

"After what? There's nothing going on between us."

"Lori, he brought you coffee the other day and had me deliver it to you with the flirty line of 'Coffee m'lady'? _His_ lady, Lori. His. It's obvious he still has feelings for you. He called you 'the one that got away' and from how you look at him, we have a feeling you may feel the same way about him," Jodie reasoned.

"And we overheard John tell you he could have been 'your man' during the first day of table reading," Andrea added.

"Yeah, we know what's been going on. I even saw you leave his trailer. I tried to warn you then, but you didn't want to listen," Candace reminded her. "For goodness sake, he had your lipstick on him, Lori."

"And I saw how jealous you were the other day over Juliette. That says something," Andrea pointed out.

"You've been spending more time with John than you have with us and even your own family," Candace dismayed.

"Every time you arrive on set he's the first person you're looking for," Jodie added. "I mean, I wish I got as much attention as he does," she teased.

"And he was in your trailer three hours after the last shooting," Andrea remarked.

"Yeah, we know because we were waiting to talk to him, but he zoomed past us, obviously upset over you," Jodie continued.

"Yeah, what was that about?" Andrea questioned.

"Did you see the look on his face?" Candace asked Jodie and Andrea, looking back at them as the three got carried away recalling the event.

"I had never seen him look so out of it," Andrea exclaimed.

"Clearly whatever kind of hooking up that happened in the trailer took a turn for the worst," Jodie concluded.

"Girls," Lori attempted to break up the chatter but failed. "Helloo?" She waved her hand in front of them to get their attention.

The girls finally looked back at Lori.

"Okay, listen, this is what you should do," Jodie started again.

Candace and Andrea's facial expressions turned serious again as they looked at Jodie.

"Obviously you can't keep doing this to yourself. We've watched you two go on an emotional roller coaster the past several weeks and frankly I'm drained by it. You need to let it out in the open. Do you want him to continue flirting with you? Do you want to just be friends with him? You can't keep doing this to yourself, Lori. Bad habits die hard… trust me, I know." She looked right into Lori's eyes. "You need to tell him how you feel!"

"What? Jodie!" Candace exclaimed, jumping in her seat and putting her hand in front of Jodie to stop her from talking. "That's a terrible idea! Do NOT listen to her," she retorted to Lori.

Andrea just sat there confused and silently biting her lip as she looked from Jodie to Candace and back to Lori.

"Listen to me and listen good," Lori declared sternly, "John and I are just good friends and always will be. There is and never has been anything going on between us. She looked at each of the girls.

"Really? Disneyland was nothing?" Jodie questioned.

Lori rolled her eyes. "We were teenagers—it wasn't even a real date."

Jodie smirked, "Making out on the Matterhorn doesn't qualify as a date?"

Andrea and Candace gasped and looked at each other first before looking at Jodie, clear shock on their faces.

"They did?!" they cried out simultaneously.

Jodie simply nodded.

"I appreciate the concern but I think I have it under control."

"Lori, please reexamine the situation and be honest with yourself. Do you _really_ think you have everything under control?" Candace asked, not believing a word that Lori claimed.

"We all know what happened with your first marriage," Jodie commented.

Lori looked down at the ground. Her head spun as she tried to process everything the girls were saying. She knew deep down, even though she denied it, they were right. She didn't have it under control. Every time she thought she did, John came swooping in, making her question everything again.

"You told us you loved John," Jodie stated seriously.

Lori looked up at her but didn't say anything. Jodie was right. She was in love with him back then, and she was slowly starting to realize that, two decades later, she may still be in love with him.

"You left Michael for him and the timing _still_ didn't work out. You need to move on," Candace advised. "You can't do this to yourself again."

Lori was quiet for a moment before finally speaking up, "You're right."

The girls looked at her confused. "What?" they asked practically in sync.

"I love him." Lori paused. "Wow," she breathed. "I love John." She could feel a sensation run through her as she suddenly stood up.

The girls looked up at her wide-eyed.

"W-what are you doing?" Candace asked with concern.

Lori threw her empty plate in the trash can.

"I need to tell John," Lori announced as she grabbed her purse from her chair.

"No, no you do not!" Candace shrieked, jumping out of her chair.

"Erm, yeah, that's what I've been saying this _whole_ time," Jodie remarked, both annoyed and proud of herself.

Lori half-smiled at the girls before pulling her purse onto her shoulder and rushing out the door.

Jodie laid back peacefully in her chair as Candace tried to hurry after her.

Andrea put her arm in front of her best friend, stopping her. "She's made up her mind, Deej. There's nothing we can say to stop her."

Candace stared at the closing door before looking back at her friend. She sighed and sat back down.

"I just hope she knows what she's doing."

* * *

Lori made a dash to the set, trying to figure out where John could possibly be. She wandered the halls, asking those around her if they had seen him. They all either said no or pretended they didn't hear her. After five minutes, she finally got an answer. One of the assistants recalled him walking into one of the meeting rooms and he generously told her the way to get there.

As she was walking, a million thoughts ran through her head. She didn't know if she loved John. Scratch that—she _knew_ she loved him and cared for him as a friend, but was she _in love_ with him? What was she planning on telling John? _"Oh, I was in love with you decades ago which was one of the leading reasons I had gone through my divorce from Michael, and oh yeah, I may_ potentially _be in love with you now"_?

 _And what about Mossimo?_ Lori pondered. She wasn't lying to him the night before when she had told him she loved him. She truly did, otherwise she wouldn't have married him 18 years ago and remained married to him all these years. In their recent arguments, she had mindlessly brushed off his comments believing they were all invalid. More than anything else, she had been so focused on defending herself.

However, Lori knew that above everything, the agony needed to end. She didn't want to wake up to a man every morning and lie to him about her feelings when that man was willing to give her the whole world and more. Mossimo didn't deserve that nor did she want to put him through it.

 _My family deserves to be happy_ , Lori thought to herself as she raised her hand up on the doorknob, _and for that to happen, I need to be honest with myself and lay it all out on the line._

She knocked on the door and within seconds was greeted by a smile from John.

"Why hello m'lady," John grinned.

Lori chuckled; John loved her laugh.

"Hey you," Lori responded cutely. They looked into each other's eyes for a second before she continued, "I need to talk to you about something… do you have time?"

John raised his eyebrows, but nodded. "For you, anything," he reminded her with a wink.

He went to grab her hand before a man popped up from behind them.

"Guys, sorry to interrupt, but there's a lady here from E! News to interview Lori."

Lori bit her lip disappointingly.

"We'll talk later?" John asked apologetically.

Lori nodded with a smile.

As the assistant was leading the way to the room where the interview was to be conducted, Lori suddenly heard her phone ding with a text.

"Sorry about that," Lori apologized to the young man directing her. She quickly pulled out her phone and went to turn it back on vibrate when she accidentally read the text.

 _I'm sorry about the way that I've been acting. I just really care for you and don't want to lose you. After all, you're the love of my life._

"No worries," the assistant stated as he guided her to a chair. He watched as she read the text. "Anything important?"

Lori reread the text back a few times, guilt flooding into her.

"Nothing really," she lied as she could feel her heart shatter, "just another sweet text from the husband."

The assistant smiled.

"How sweet of him."


	8. Chapter 8: Fun & Games (T Rated Version)

**Author's Note/Important Notice:** _Chapter 8 contains adult themes not suitable for younger audiences. If you wish to read the clean teen-rated version you may continue reading this chapter safely and then skip to chapter 9. If you are 18+ and want to read the more mature version, continue on to the next page._

* * *

As soon as the interview was over, Lori headed to the small kitchen to brew herself some coffee. She walked in and went straight to the coffee maker. A few minutes later, as she was stirring cream into her cup, she heard footsteps make their way into the room. She looked up to see Bob and Dave.

"Hey guys," Lori greeted casually as she double tapped the stirrer on the edge of her cup and threw it into the trash can.

"Lori," they chorused as they went to the vending machine.

Lori could sense an awkward vibe in the room as she leaned against the counter and watched as the men quietly pressed buttons on the machine. The silence surprised her; they were usually very talkative or laughing about some crazy thing that happened that day. Instead of asking, however, Lori simply sipped her coffee and watched them leave minutes later.

A few more minutes passed until her manager peeked his head into the kitchen. "Lori, your break is up, it's time for the next interview."

Lori thanked him and finished her coffee before throwing the styrofoam cup into the recycling bin and walking back out to the main area where her second interview of the day would be conducted.

Her manager leading the way, she found Bob and Dave again, sitting next to John, and she quickly realized it was a whole-cast interview, exciting her. She loved interviewing with the whole cast; instead of feeling like work, it felt like another hangout time with the family.

The moment Lori caught eyes with John, John shot her a grin and wink, waving her over to him. She immediately made her way over to his right and he took her hand and kissed it, causing her to smile.

At first, as usual, the interviewer asked questions like, "How does it feel to be back with everyone again?" "What are some of the main differences doing _Fuller House_ now in comparison to _Full House_ years ago?" "How have the new kids adapted to being on the set with you?"

The cast answered the questions without hesitation, each of them speaking up and saying something about what it was like to be on set again.

"Okay, now I want to play a little game with you guys… Have you all played the game 'Never Have I Ever'?" the reporter asked the cast.

They all nodded.

"Well, traditionally it's a drinking game, but for the sake of this interview, we're going to add a little mystery and make it completely anonymous. We have these clickers for you," the reporter explained as her assistant passed them all a clicker.

"I will say a statement such as 'Never have I ever interviewed the cast of _Full House_ ' and whoever has carried out the action will respond 'yes' on the clicker. Names will not be recorded and will remain anonymous. The number of people who answer yes will pop up on the screen beside me. Any questions?" the reporter asked, taking a momentary pause before continuing.

"Okay, let's get the ball rolling," the interviewer began. "The following are questions people on Twitter submitted and are dying to know!"

"Round one: never have I ever forgotten a line while filming."

All seven of them pressed yes.

The interviewer looked at the screen to see how many responses had been recorded and laughed. "All seven of you have forgotten a line!" she announced.

"It happens to the best of us," John commented, running a hand through his hair and flashing that infamous smile of his. Lori laughed.

"Round two: Never have I ever skipped a day of work."

"Five!" the interviewer exclaimed.

"Hey, we filmed _Full House_ for _a lot_ of years!" Dave defended.

"Round three: Never have I ever dated a _Full House_ costar _._ "

"Zero! Wow, I'm actually surprised the two of you never dated." The interviewer motioned toward Lori and John. They looked at each other.

"Well, we did go on a date once before _Full House—"_ John started.

"Shut up, no we didn't!" Lori chuckled, slapping her hand gently against his arm. "The timing was just never right," she continued, feigning a smile as the two of them could feel the rest of the cast members watching them.

"Round four: Never have I ever hooked up with a fan."

"Damn, shit just got real!" Jodie exclaimed, smirking and logging in her answer.

"You start out with all the innocent questions first I see," Candace commented.

"One! Now I wish we knew who it was."

"Oh, I think we _all_ know," Dave laughed as they all looked at John.

"Hey now, this is an anonymous game and I don't see how you guys can just assume it was me," John defended.

"Was it?" Jodie asked knowingly, leaning over and looking at him.

"That's against the rules! Miss, she's cheating!" John teased, pointing out Jodie to the interviewer.

Lori bit her lip to stop herself from reacting. She never liked thinking of John's past.

"Round five: Never have I ever hated someone on set."

They all quickly logged their answers.

"Zero! No secret rivalries I see."

"No hate here, we're all like a family," Bob said with a smile. The rest of the cast beamed as well.

"We truly are," Andrea chimed in, exchanging smiles with Candace. She patted her best friend's hand.

"Round six: Never have I ever fallen in love with someone on set."

Lori bit her lip again as she logged her answer and then looked at John who was still logging in his.

"Two! Wow, no one has ever dated but it seems we have some love birds," the interviewer said excitedly.

The rest of the cast had a strong feeling who the two individuals were, but acted natural and kept straight faces.

Lori avoided John's gaze as they moved onto the next round.

"Round seven: Never have I ever hooked up on set in one of the trailers while filming _Full House_ or _Fuller House."_

Lori could feel the heat rising to her face as she answered 'yes.'

"Three! Wow, is that allowed?" the interviewer asked in shock.

"It's frowned upon, but it happens," Jodie admitted, knowing she had been guilty herself.

"Okay, last but not least, round eight: never have I ever played a prank on set."

All seven burst out laughing as they quickly logged their responses.

"All of you!" the reporter laughed. "Now we know what you guys do behind the scenes."

The girls giggled. "The guys are always pranking us," Andrea reported.

"Yeah, but we get them back _real_ good," Candace assured.

The reporter laughed. "Well, that's all I have for today. Thank you all so much for your time," she told them, shaking each of their hands before she left.

As they all departed, John looked at Lori and smirked.

"What?" Lori questioned, smiling at him.

"Nothing," he responded as he continued to walk away with a smile on his face. They managed to diverge from the rest of the cast.

Lori laughed and walked over to him. "What?" she insisted, grabbing a hold of his arm and stopping him.

"Nothing," he answered, looking back at her. "I just never knew you had fallen in love with me."

John's words caused Lori's heart to race. "I never said that," she argued, red hitting her cheeks.

"Oh c'mon. There were two people who answered yes to that question."

Lori stuck to her act of denial. "You can't possibly just assume that was me," she scoffed. "And even if it was, who said it was you who I fell in love with? Are you really that vain?"

John analyzed her expression in a search for stared at her for a moment before getting an idea.

"I call a redo," he ordered.

"What?" Lori asked, confused.

"A redo. Just you and me."

Lori laughed and looked at him like he was crazy. She assumed he must have been kidding, but when she did a doubletake, her eyes widened. His face was serious.

"Oh, you're serious?" Her smile faded as it was replaced by shock.

John nodded. "Why not? I have nothing to hide and you shouldn't either."

Lori's pulse quickened. It was one thing to play anonymously, but did she really want to put herself in this position with John? Then again, what was she hiding? Wasn't she brave enough just an hour ago to tell John she loved him?

"You're on," she agreed, knowing it was probably against her better judgment.

John smirked. "You do realize this is usually a drinking game, right?"

 _Oh gosh, I'm going to regret this,_ Lori thought to herself as she nodded.

"My trailer?" Lori asked.

John shook his head, "Mine."

John reached for her hand as they headed toward his trailer, but Lori slowly pulled her hand away from his as she followed him.

 _What am I doing?_ she questioned herself as they were walking.

* * *

When they got to John's trailer, Lori naturally sat down on the couch as John went over to the cupboard and pulled out two shot glasses.

"Make yourself at home," John paused and looked back at her, "you've been here before anyway," he teased with a wink, causing Lori to blush.

He then went over to a cabinet underneath the hanging flat-screen TV and opened it, revealing his collection of drinks.

Lori turned to look over to John. Her eyes widened. "Wow," she breathed subconsciously.

John chuckled. "What?" he asked as he pulled out a bottle of tequila for Lori and vodka for himself, and shut the cabinet door.

"Nothing," Lori responded as she clasped her hands together in her lap, "it's just completely expected that America's Sexiest Bachelor has such a large amount of alcohol stocked in his trailer."

"Oh, I see," John went and sat beside Lori. "You think I'm sexy?" he asked, a huge cheesy grin on his face.

Lori pushed him playfully. "Just fill the glasses, Stamos," she demanded.

John abided, sitting back up and opening the bottles, pouring adequate amounts in each glass.

"By the way," Lori began, watching as John filled her drink, "how did you know tequila is one of my go-to drinks?"

"You're hard to forget," John replied charmingly, causing Lori to smile.

"Okay," John declared as he set the second bottle down, "let's start easy."

The two of them lifted their respective shot glasses into their hands.

"Never have I ever…" John started, "had a dream about the other person?"

John looked into Lori's eyes and wiggled his eyebrows.

They gave each other a teasing smile before both downing the shot.

"You had a dream about me?" John gasped. "What was it about?"

"This isn't '20 Truths,' John," Lori teased.

There was a silence before John asked, "Aren't you going to ask me what _my_ dream was about?"

Lori narrowed her eyes at him.

"Okay, maybe it was obvious," John finished before refilling their shot glasses.

"Your move, Loughlin," John motioned for her to continue the game.

"Okay…" Lori opened her mouth to ask something, but hesitated.

"Anything's on the table," John reminded her, placing his hand on her leg.

Lori looked down at his resting hand. She didn't know if it was the alcohol, but his hand on her felt _really_ nice.

"Never have I ever said the other person's name in bed," Lori remarked. Throughout the years, this question had always been creeping through her mind.

"Damn," John breathed, "you're really going full force, babe."

Lori tilted her head cutely at him. She looked from his eyes to his glass and back into his eyes, questioning in a gesture whether or not he would drink.

John narrowed his eyes at Lori, keeping his eyes locked onto hers as he lifted the shot glass onto his lips and took a drink.

It was Lori's turn to gasp. "Shut up!" she screamed. "You did not!"

John shrugged nonchalantly.

"Now you have to explain!" Lori insisted since he was the only one who had been guilty and that's how the game worked.

"What? Of all the risqué things an innocent person refuses to understand, _you_ know the proper rules to 'Never Have I Ever'?"

Lori smiled innocently. "Hey, I too have a dark side," she pointed out.

A playful grin arose on John's face. "Yeaaah you do," he said sexily, causing Lori to slap his hand. When their hands touched, Lori could feel herself blush. She decided to keep her hand resting on his.

"Okay, well…" John tried to recall the moment. He tapped his fingers on the side of his drink. "It was a few weeks after you first appeared on _Full House._ I don't know… I guess when I saw you arrive on set that very first day, all my feelings for you came rushing back. And you being my love interest on the show just made things feel even more real." He paused. "Expressing Jesse's feelings for Becky was merely a reflection of my own feelings. For you."

Hearing John's words brought a soft smile to Lori's face. Without thinking, her thumb had begun caressing John's.

John could feel his heart beating faster as he kept his eyes locked onto Lori's.

"Since you were with Michael, I decided to take the woman out to dinner. She seemed to enjoy herself, I needed to find a way to get over you. I took her back to my apartment, and things evidently took a turn for the worst."

Lori let out a small chuckle, looking from the ground shyly and then back into his eyes.

"I just couldn't get my mind off of you," John added softly, looking deeper into her eyes.

They stared into each other's eyes for a moment before Lori finally snapped them both back into reality.

"Okay, moving on," she continued, taking the liberty to pour their drinks this time.

They both brought the shot glasses back in front of them.

"Bad choice," John joked. Lori looked at him, confused. "I have an interesting question that you will most definitely have to drink to."

Lori raised her eyebrows. "Bring it," she retorted.

John smirked. "Never have I ever…" he paused. "And this sort of question is a two-way street, so I actually know the answer to it and can catch your bluff."

"Just ask me, John!" Lori chuckled impatiently.

"Never have I ever wanted to kiss on _Full_ or _Fuller House_ longer than directed to," John finally declared, sticking his nose up confidently.

Lori's teasing smile faded. "Hey, unfair!" she called out. "You just think that because of the 'War of the Roses' epis—"

"And many, many _Full House_ episodes," John corrected, sticking his finger in the air matter-of-factly.

Lori shook her head and drank. John laughed before following shortly after.

"Never have I ever..." Lori began, turning back to face John. She paused, bit her lip, and continued, "Regretted the choices I made."

They caught each other's eyes again. Without realizing it, they were sitting much closer to each other than they had when they had started.

"This one's easy," John murmured as he downed his drink. He was surprised, however, when Lori downed hers seconds later.

"Really?" John asked softly to her.

Lori nodded slowly, biting her lip. She continued caressing her thumb against his.

John could feel chills rise up his spine and smiled helplessly at the woman he had always been in love with.

"Never have I ever," John resumed after pouring more tequila and vodka into their glasses, "fallen in love with the other person."

John felt his fingers instinctively grip his shot glass in anticipation. He knew his answer. He just needed to wait for Lori's.

Lori's eyes fell to her glass. She didn't know how to respond _. I'm married. I have kids. I need to stop this. The only way to truly make my family happy is by being honest with myself and not keeping my emotions bottled inside._ For a second, she had considered lying - after all, it was just a game - but she knew John didn't deserve that.

Another moment passed as John waited anxiously for Lori's answer. He watched as Lori's teeth bit her bottom lip again. _Damn, she's perfect_ , he thought to himself as, finally, his eyes met hers.

When Lori looked back into John's eyes, she knew.

Lori lifted her glass up to her lips. She tilted the glass and gulped down her drink.

"Lori…" John murmured subconsciously.

Lori's lips curved into a soft smile just as John downed his drink.

"Never have I ever," Lori spoke under her breath, ignoring the fact that they hadn't refilled their glasses. John looked from Lori's eyes down to her lips. Lori gulped nervously. She could feel her heart beat faster, clear desire in her eyes. "Wanted to kiss—"

However, Lori's words were interrupted as John placed a finger on her chin and pulled himself in toward her. He brushed his lips against hers, causing Lori to shiver in desire. She wrapped her arms around John's neck and went in for the kiss. Within seconds, their tongues swirled together and Lori had to bite back a moan as she forced herself to pull back.

"Can I just say," Lori purred as she opened her eyes slowly, meeting John's. "Haveee mercy."


	9. Chapter 8: Fun & Games (M Rated Version)

**Author's Note/Important Notice:** This chapter is the same as the previous chapter 8 just with a little added bonus that is not suitable for younger audiences. Please do not read unless you are 18+.

* * *

As soon as the interview was over, Lori headed to the small kitchen to brew herself some coffee. She walked in and went straight to the coffee maker. A few minutes later, as she was stirring cream into her cup, she heard footsteps make their way into the room. She looked up to see Bob and Dave.

"Hey guys," Lori greeted casually as she double tapped the stirrer on the edge of her cup and threw it into the trash can.

"Lori," they chorused as they went to the vending machine.

Lori could sense an awkward vibe in the room as she leaned against the counter and watched as the men quietly pressed buttons on the machine. The silence surprised her; they were usually very talkative or laughing about some crazy thing that happened that day. Instead of asking, however, Lori simply sipped her coffee and watched them leave minutes later.

A few more minutes passed until her manager peeked his head into the kitchen. "Lori, your break is up, it's time for the next interview."

Lori thanked him and finished her coffee before throwing the styrofoam cup into the recycling bin and walking back out to the main area where her second interview of the day would be conducted.

Her manager leading the way, she found Bob and Dave again, sitting next to John, and she quickly realized it was a whole-cast interview, exciting her. She loved interviewing with the whole cast; instead of feeling like work, it felt like another hangout time with the family.

The moment Lori caught eyes with John, John shot her a grin and wink, waving her over to him. She immediately made her way over to his right and he took her hand and kissed it, causing her to smile.

At first, as usual, the interviewer asked questions like, "How does it feel to be back with everyone again?" "What are some of the main differences doing _Fuller House_ now in comparison to _Full House_ years ago?" "How have the new kids adapted to being on the set with you?"

The cast answered the questions without hesitation, each of them speaking up and saying something about what it was like to be on set again.

"Okay, now I want to play a little game with you guys… Have you all played the game 'Never Have I Ever'?" the reporter asked the cast.

They all nodded.

"Well, traditionally it's a drinking game, but for the sake of this interview, we're going to add a little mystery and make it completely anonymous. We have these clickers for you," the reporter explained as her assistant passed them all a clicker.

"I will say a statement such as 'Never have I ever interviewed the cast of _Full House_ ' and whoever has carried out the action will respond 'yes' on the clicker. Names will not be recorded and will remain anonymous. The number of people who answer yes will pop up on the screen beside me. Any questions?" the reporter asked, taking a momentary pause before continuing.

"Okay, let's get the ball rolling," the interviewer began. "The following are questions people on Twitter submitted and are dying to know!"

"Round one: never have I ever forgotten a line while filming."

All seven of them pressed yes.

The interviewer looked at the screen to see how many responses had been recorded and laughed. "All seven of you have forgotten a line!" she announced.

"It happens to the best of us," John commented, running a hand through his hair and flashing that infamous smile of his. Lori laughed.

"Round two: Never have I ever skipped a day of work."

"Five!" the interviewer exclaimed.

"Hey, we filmed _Full House_ for _a lot_ of years!" Dave defended.

"Round three: Never have I ever dated a _Full House_ costar _._ "

"Zero! Wow, I'm actually surprised the two of you never dated." The interviewer motioned toward Lori and John. They looked at each other.

"Well, we did go on a date once before _Full House—"_ John started.

"Shut up, no we didn't!" Lori chuckled, slapping her hand gently against his arm. "The timing was just never right," she continued, feigning a smile as the two of them could feel the rest of the cast members watching them.

"Round four: Never have I ever hooked up with a fan."

"Damn, shit just got real!" Jodie exclaimed, smirking and logging in her answer.

"You start out with all the innocent questions first I see," Candace commented.

"One! Now I wish we knew who it was."

"Oh, I think we _all_ know," Dave laughed as they all looked at John.

"Hey now, this is an anonymous game and I don't see how you guys can just assume it was me," John defended.

"Was it?" Jodie asked knowingly, leaning over and looking at him.

"That's against the rules! Miss, she's cheating!" John teased, pointing out Jodie to the interviewer.

Lori bit her lip to stop herself from reacting. She never liked thinking of John's past.

"Round five: Never have I ever hated someone on set."

They all quickly logged their answers.

"Zero! No secret rivalries I see."

"No hate here, we're all like a family," Bob said with a smile. The rest of the cast beamed as well.

"We truly are," Andrea chimed in, exchanging smiles with Candace. She patted her best friend's hand.

"Round six: Never have I ever fallen in love with someone on set."

Lori bit her lip again as she logged her answer and then looked at John who was still logging in his.

"Two! Wow, no one has ever dated but it seems we have some love birds," the interviewer said excitedly.

The rest of the cast had a strong feeling who the two individuals were, but acted natural and kept straight faces.

Lori avoided John's gaze as they moved onto the next round.

"Round seven: Never have I ever hooked up on set in one of the trailers while filming _Full House_ or _Fuller House."_

Lori could feel the heat rising to her face as she answered 'yes.'

"Three! Wow, is that allowed?" the interviewer asked in shock.

"It's frowned upon, but it happens," Jodie admitted, knowing she had been guilty herself.

"Okay, last but not least, round eight: never have I ever played a prank on set."

All seven burst out laughing as they quickly logged their responses.

"All of you!" the reporter laughed. "Now we know what you guys do behind the scenes."

The girls giggled. "The guys are always pranking us," Andrea reported.

"Yeah, but we get them back _real_ good," Candace assured.

The reporter laughed. "Well, that's all I have for today. Thank you all so much for your time," she told them, shaking each of their hands before she left.

As they all departed, John looked at Lori and smirked.

"What?" Lori questioned, smiling at him.

"Nothing," he responded as he continued to walk away with a smile on his face. They managed to diverge from the rest of the cast.

Lori laughed and walked over to him. "What?" she insisted, grabbing a hold of his arm and stopping him.

"Nothing," he answered, looking back at her. "I just never knew you had fallen in love with me."

John's words caused Lori's heart to race. "I never said that," she argued, red hitting her cheeks.

"Oh c'mon. There were two people who answered yes to that question."

Lori stuck to her act of denial. "You can't possibly just assume that was me," she scoffed. "And even if it was, who said it was you who I fell in love with? Are you really that vain?"

John analyzed her expression in a search for stared at her for a moment before getting an idea.

"I call a redo," he ordered.

"What?" Lori asked, confused.

"A redo. Just you and me."

Lori laughed and looked at him like he was crazy. She assumed he must have been kidding, but when she did a doubletake, her eyes widened. His face was serious.

"Oh, you're serious?" Her smile faded as it was replaced by shock.

John nodded. "Why not? I have nothing to hide and you shouldn't either."

Lori's pulse quickened. It was one thing to play anonymously, but did she really want to put herself in this position with John? Then again, what was she hiding? Wasn't she brave enough just an hour ago to tell John she loved him?

"You're on," she agreed, knowing it was probably against her better judgment.

John smirked. "You do realize this is usually a drinking game, right?"

 _Oh gosh, I'm going to regret this,_ Lori thought to herself as she nodded.

"My trailer?" Lori asked.

John shook his head, "Mine."

John reached for her hand as they headed toward his trailer, but Lori slowly pulled her hand away from his as she followed him.

 _What am I doing?_ she questioned herself as they were walking.

* * *

When they got to John's trailer, Lori naturally sat down on the couch as John went over to the cupboard and pulled out two shot glasses.

"Make yourself at home," John paused and looked back at her, "you've been here before anyway," he teased with a wink, causing Lori to blush.

He then went over to a cabinet underneath the hanging flat-screen TV and opened it, revealing his collection of drinks.

Lori turned to look over to John. Her eyes widened. "Wow," she breathed subconsciously.

John chuckled. "What?" he asked as he pulled out a bottle of tequila for Lori and vodka for himself, and shut the cabinet door.

"Nothing," Lori responded as she clasped her hands together in her lap, "it's just completely expected that America's Sexiest Bachelor has such a large amount of alcohol stocked in his trailer."

"Oh, I see," John went and sat beside Lori. "You think I'm sexy?" he asked, a huge cheesy grin on his face.

Lori pushed him playfully. "Just fill the glasses, Stamos," she demanded.

John abided, sitting back up and opening the bottles, pouring adequate amounts in each glass.

"By the way," Lori began, watching as John filled her drink, "how did you know tequila is one of my go-to drinks?"

"You're hard to forget," John replied charmingly, causing Lori to smile.

"Okay," John declared as he set the second bottle down, "let's start easy."

The two of them lifted their respective shot glasses into their hands.

"Never have I ever…" John started, "had a dream about the other person?"

John looked into Lori's eyes and wiggled his eyebrows.

They gave each other a teasing smile before both downing the shot.

"You had a dream about me?" John gasped. "What was it about?"

"This isn't '20 Truths,' John," Lori teased.

There was a silence before John asked, "Aren't you going to ask me what _my_ dream was about?"

Lori narrowed her eyes at him.

"Okay, maybe it was obvious," John finished before refilling their shot glasses.

"Your move, Loughlin," John motioned for her to continue the game.

"Okay…" Lori opened her mouth to ask something, but hesitated.

"Anything's on the table," John reminded her, placing his hand on her leg.

Lori looked down at his resting hand. She didn't know if it was the alcohol, but his hand on her felt _really_ nice.

"Never have I ever said the other person's name in bed," Lori remarked. Throughout the years, this question had always been creeping through her mind.

"Damn," John breathed, "you're really going full force, babe."

Lori tilted her head cutely at him. She looked from his eyes to his glass and back into his eyes, questioning in a gesture whether or not he would drink.

John narrowed his eyes at Lori, keeping his eyes locked onto hers as he lifted the shot glass onto his lips and took a drink.

It was Lori's turn to gasp. "Shut up!" she screamed. "You did not!"

John shrugged nonchalantly.

"Now you have to explain!" Lori insisted since he was the only one who had been guilty and that's how the game worked.

"What? Of all the risqué things an innocent person refuses to understand, _you_ know the proper rules to 'Never Have I Ever'?"

Lori smiled innocently. "Hey, I too have a dark side," she pointed out.

A playful grin arose on John's face. "Yeaaah you do," he said sexily, causing Lori to slap his hand. When their hands touched, Lori could feel herself blush. She decided to keep her hand resting on his.

"Okay, well…" John tried to recall the moment. He tapped his fingers on the side of his drink. "It was a few weeks after you first appeared on _Full House._ I don't know… I guess when I saw you arrive on set that very first day, all my feelings for you came rushing back. And you being my love interest on the show just made things feel even more real." He paused. "Expressing Jesse's feelings for Becky was merely a reflection of my own feelings. For you."

Hearing John's words brought a soft smile to Lori's face. Without thinking, her thumb had begun caressing John's.

John could feel his heart beating faster as he kept his eyes locked onto Lori's.

"Since you were with Michael, I decided to take the woman out to dinner. She seemed to enjoy herself, I needed to find a way to get over you. I took her back to my apartment, and things evidently took a turn for the worst."

Lori let out a small chuckle, looking from the ground shyly and then back into his eyes.

"I just couldn't get my mind off of you," John added softly, looking deeper into her eyes.

They stared into each other's eyes for a moment before Lori finally snapped them both back into reality.

"Okay, moving on," she continued, taking the liberty to pour their drinks this time.

They both brought the shot glasses back in front of them.

"Bad choice," John joked. Lori looked at him, confused. "I have an interesting question that you will most definitely have to drink to."

Lori raised her eyebrows. "Bring it," she retorted.

John smirked. "Never have I ever…" he paused. "And this sort of question is a two-way street, so I actually know the answer to it and can catch your bluff."

"Just ask me, John!" Lori chuckled impatiently.

"Never have I ever wanted to kiss on _Full_ or _Fuller House_ longer than directed to," John finally declared, sticking his nose up confidently.

Lori's teasing smile faded. "Hey, unfair!" she called out. "You just think that because of the 'War of the Roses' epis—"

"And many, many _Full House_ episodes," John corrected, sticking his finger in the air matter-of-factly.

Lori shook her head and drank. John laughed before following shortly after.

"Never have I ever..." Lori began, turning back to face John. She paused, bit her lip, and continued, "Regretted the choices I made."

They caught each other's eyes again. Without realizing it, they were sitting much closer to each other than they had when they had started.

"This one's easy," John murmured as he downed his drink. He was surprised, however, when Lori downed hers seconds later.

"Really?" John asked softly to her.

Lori nodded slowly, biting her lip. She continued caressing her thumb against his.

John could feel chills rise up his spine and smiled helplessly at the woman he had always been in love with.

"Never have I ever," John resumed after pouring more tequila and vodka into their glasses, "fallen in love with the other person."

John felt his fingers instinctively grip his shot glass in anticipation. He knew his answer. He just needed to wait for Lori's.

Lori's eyes fell to her glass. She didn't know how to respond _. I'm married. I have kids. I need to stop this. The only way to truly make my family happy is by being honest with myself and not keeping my emotions bottled inside._ For a second, she had considered lying - after all, it was just a game - but she knew John didn't deserve that.

Another moment passed as John waited anxiously for Lori's answer. He watched as Lori's teeth bit her bottom lip again. _Damn, she's perfect_ , he thought to himself as, finally, his eyes met hers.

When Lori looked back into John's eyes, she knew.

Lori lifted her glass up to her lips. She tilted the glass and gulped down her drink.

"Lori…" John murmured subconsciously.

Lori's lips curved into a soft smile just as John downed his drink.

"Never have I ever," Lori spoke under her breath, ignoring the fact that they hadn't refilled their glasses. John looked from Lori's eyes down to her lips. Lori gulped nervously. She could feel her heart beat faster, clear desire in her eyes. "Wanted to kiss—"

However, Lori's words were interrupted as John placed a finger on her chin and pulled himself in toward her. He brushed his lips against hers, causing Lori to shiver in desire. She wrapped her arms around John's neck and went in for the kiss. Within seconds, their tongues swirled together and Lori had to bite back a moan as she forced herself to pull back.

"Can I just say," Lori purred as she opened her eyes slowly, meeting John's. "Haveee mercy."

A seductive smile arose on John as he leaned in toward Lori again. He bit her bottom lip, causing her breath to hitch. Soon, Lori found her back lying against the couch, John above her. Caught up in the moment, Lori and John simultaneously crashed their shot glasses onto the floor.

Lori raked her nails up John's back as he sucked on Lori's tongue. Lori could feel herself quiver. _He is so damn good at this_ , she thought to herself as she shut her eyes in ecstasy.

John moved his fingers toward the bottom edge of her shirt before stopping himself.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" John asked, letting his hot breath tickle her ear.

"Yesss…" Lori responded huskily as she ran her fingers through his hair.

John began kissing her neck as he gripped the edge of Lori's shirt and pulled it over her head. Lori then took initiative and hurriedly ripped off John's shirt.

John pressed his body against Lori's, continuing to kiss her neck. A moment later, he moved his lips back beside her ear and breathily murmured, "I love you…"

As Lori heard these words from John, she could feel her heartbeat quicken again. She opened her eyes and moved so their foreheads were pressed together. "I love you too," she cooed, "now… please just kiss me."

Impatiently, Lori hungrily moved her lips back onto John's, this time taking control. She dug her fingers into his back as she arched her back up, pressing her body further against his.

John could feel his knees buckle in anticipation and he shifted and used his hands to help shimmy Lori's jeans down. Lori took the opportunity to work on undoing his belt. She could already feel him more than ready and she wanted to release him from the confines of the fabric.

Needily, the two of them stripped the last pieces of their clothing.

"You're so beautiful," John complimented, taking in the sight of her before kissing her again. She gripped his biceps as he hovered over her.

Her body hummed with anticipation as she urged him closer and could feel their bodies pressed together so close but yet not close enough.

His mouth moved back to her neck and then down to her collarbone, sucking and paying just enough attention to each spot to cause Lori to whimper but not enough to leave a mark.

"I've ...dreamed about this... for so long," John murmured in between kisses.

"Shhh…" Lori hushed him. John stopped and looked back at her. She pressed her finger against his lips. "I know," she whispered to him softly, a twinkle in her eye.

John suddenly acknowledged how much this moment meant to him. Lori was special to him and he wanted to treat her well. He loved her. He'd always loved her, and now he was finally being given a chance to prove how much he truly cared about her— a chance to take care of her. When he looked back into her eyes, her smile reassured him and he was brought back to reality.

Lori moved her hand back to John's hair and tugged at it just as John moved down to her chest.

He slowly kissed down her body until he was inches away from where she needed him. He looked up at her for reassurance that this is really what she wanted. In response, she spread her legs eagerly and he took initiative, delving his tongue in. As he flicked his tongue, he could hear Lori moan as he expertly pleased her. He smirked sexily by how turned on she was.

"John…" she whimpered heatedly.

Thirty-three years. Thirty-three years she'd waited for this and it was _so_ worth it.

When she was right on the edge, he stopped, coming back up to kiss her neck as she pulled his face back to her so she could look into his eyes. He straddled and slowly sank down into her as she hooked her legs behind him, urging him deeper. Her breath hitched as her body stretched to accommodate him. He was a lot bigger than she was used to, but he felt so good.

"Mhmm," she murmured as he set the pace.

As soon as she got close, he slowed, leaving her panting. "Fuuuck," Lori moaned helplessly. The rhythm was perfect, almost as if it was full of crescendo and decrescendos. He always did say he had a musical approach to lovemaking.

She sucked his neck as he sped up, wanting to leave a mark he'd have to explain at work the next day.

John worked his thigh muscles as he pulled his hips down harder. Lori's nails dug deeper into his back more than ever before, causing him to grunt.

"Fuck, fuck fuck..." he moaned. "Lori…"

Lori then raked her fingers through his hair as he continued to slam into her. As the electricity built, they gradually lost rhythm and dissolved into pleasure.

Lori and John could see stars as their vision faded to black.

A moment later, as they attempted to catch their breath, Lori could feel John reach for her hand and she instinctively intertwined her fingers with his. He looked down at the love of his life and kissed her forehead. He then pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"Was that how you pictured it in your dream?" Lori asked warmly, looking into John's eyes.

"Even better," John replied without hesitation.


	10. Chapter 9: It is What is Best

Lori looked in the mirror as she straightened her shirt and attempted to fix her messy hair. She shook her head in disbelief at how disheveled she looked from their session on the couch just moments before. "I cannot go home looking like this."

"Who said anything about going home?" John replied, wagging his eyebrows at her as he secured his belt into place.

She turned around and shot him a look, causing him to laugh.

"Ah, I'm just teasing but do you want to come back to my place? You can get cleaned up there," John offered.

Lori shot him another look and John put his hands up innocently.

"Hey, I just meant so you can take a shower, nothing more!"

Lori thought about it for a moment. _I certainly can't go home like this. What's one last stop before I head home? We can control ourselves. After all, we just got that out of our system_ , she thought.

"Okay, but just a shower," she insisted.

"Just a shower."

Lori smiled and then looked down at her phone. Her face dropped upon seeing several missed messages from Mossimo. She hadn't responded to him since their fight earlier. She'd meant to respond, but she was whisked away for interviews and then, well…

"Is everything okay?" John walked over to her, concerned to see her expression change so quickly.

She looked up at him, snapping back to reality. "Yeah, hold on one second."

Lori quickly clicked her group chat with the girls before typing a message.

 _If anyone asks, we went out for a girls' night._

Lori's phone dinged almost instantly.

Candace: _Where are you? I thought you went home._

Jodie: _OMG! You told him didn't you? I thought I heard moans coming from his trailer. Get it, giiirl._

Andrea: _Ignore them. Just be careful, okay? You can fill us in tomorrow. We've got your back, we promise!_

The other two girls agreed and Lori sent a quick text to Mossimo as well.

 _Sorry, my phone died. We'll discuss what happened earlier when I get home. I'm with the girls. I won't be home until late. I just need some time for myself._

Lori felt guilty for lying to him, but as she pressed send, set her phone down, and John wrapped his arms around her, she knew, after waiting for so many years, that she needed this.

* * *

With the media constantly asking about their status and Lori's need to head back home after, Lori and John figured it was best to head to John's condo in separate cars. Lori made sure to follow John's car, leaving an appropriate distance as to not get caught.

As Lori was driving, she couldn't help but remember the text that Mossimo had sent her earlier. He really did love her. She could never dream of such a great man loving her as much as he did. ' _How sweet of him…'_ she remembered the assistant telling her in response to his message. She sighed. She had such genuinely caring, grateful feelings for Mossimo. He meant so much to her. He was the father of her children. He was always there for her when she needed him to be. She loved him.

Yet, why was it that when she was with another man, things just felt so much more right? How come it was a different man that felt like her missing half - the one who made her the happiest, who made her feel things she had never felt before?

Guilt and shame filled her. Never in her life did she imagine she would do what she had just done with John. _While married to someone else?_ She shook her head in disappointment. She could never forgive herself for what she had done. Mossimo was the one she was supposed to be in love with. Mossimo. Her husband.

But… being with John just felt so _right_. So _perfect._ So _magical._

Lori slapped her hand on the steering wheel in frustration. "Love is so fucking complicated," she mumbled, biting her tears back.

* * *

John looked into his rear view mirror and without thinking, flashed a smile when he saw Lori. As they got to a stoplight, John could see his phone on the passenger seat light up with a text. He took a peek at it and realized it was Juliette. Before continuing to drive, he quickly flipped his phone over so the light wouldn't show.

Although John was surely considered to be a ladies man, he had not once betrayed anyone he was with. Part of him felt ashamed for what he had done. He had a lovely woman who wanted to be with him. But deep down, he knew he only kept Juliette in his life so he wouldn't feel completely alone in despair.

Lori. Lori was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

* * *

Ten minutes later, John arrived at his condo and a few seconds after, Lori pulled in and parked beside him.

John got out of his car and locked it, waiting for Lori to get out of hers.

"Hey," he murmured as she locked the car.

"Hey you," Lori greeted John before he brought her into his arms. She could feel her heart beat by his simple presence.

John pressed his lips against Lori's. After a moment, he pulled away and grabbed her hand in his. Lori smiled softly as John led her up to his place.

"Should I even bother to tease you and ask how many women you've brought up here?" Lori asked him, "or will it just be completely abhorrent?"

"Well, you're the one _exceptional_ woman I've brought up here," John assured Lori, squeezing her hand and unlocking his door.

As they got into John's master bedroom, Lori was awe-struck by how gorgeous it really was. Although she had been to his place before with the whole cast, she had never gotten a real look at everything.

"The bathroom is over there," John directed Lori, pointing to a door to the left of his king-size bed. He gave her a kiss on her hand before letting go of it.

Lori nodded and went over to the door. As she was opening it, she could hear John's voice from behind her.

"Want me to join you?"

Lori could feel her heart suddenly race. She turned red, frozen in place.

"I'm kidding," John smirked.

Lori went over to John who was sitting at the edge of his bed. She shoved him playfully.

"Shut up," she giggled nervously before scurrying to the bathroom and making sure to lock it behind her.

 _What am I doing?_ she thought as she looked in the mirror. As she got in the shower, her mind was spinning.

* * *

Lori grabbed John's robe as she got out the shower. She ran her fingers through her hair and scrunched it. Before opening the door, she took the liberty to look around. She opened his medicine cabinet. Condoms. Boxes and boxes of them. She closed the cabinet, disgusted. She really had ruined him. He just bounced from girl to girl and now here she was, standing in John's bathroom, another one of his conquests. She took a deep breath as she opened the door and smiled at John, one hand on the door frame and the other in the pocket of the robe.

"Damn…"

"What? Is something wrong?" Lori asked, a bit nervous.

"You look even hotter after a shower with your hair all wet and wearing _absolutely nothing_ under my robe," John complimented, biting his lip. His back was resting on pillows as he sat up on the bed.

Lori smiled seductively, walking over to him. She pushed him backward onto the bed before climbing on top of him. John smiled and pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. He wrapped his arms around her waist as he looked from her eyes down to her lips. He could feel his heart skip a beat when she pressed her lips against his.

They kissed passionately for a moment before John pulled back slightly, just enough so their foreheads were pressed together.

"You drive me crazy," John breathed, both their faces flushed.

Lori bit her lip sensually in response. She grinned before running her tongue over his lips and passionately kissing him again, swirling her tongue with his and causing John to moan.

When she could feel John eager for more, Lori forced herself to pull away. _I hope that shows all those other girls…_ Lori thought to herself as she moved over to John's side.

His heavy breathing proved her successful.

John looked over at Lori as he tried to catch his breath. He watched as she easily stood up and headed back to the bathroom, before halting at the door.

"Oh shoot, what am I going to wear…" she asked aloud.

"Just go look in my closet," he answered casually, "there's a bag in the corner full of clothes you can wear."

"Ugh, John," she crossed her arms and rolled her eyes at him, "I'm not going to wear clothes that one of your old hookups left."

John caught Lori's eyes again. "I'm kidding, babe." He suddenly pulled out a bag from underneath his bed. "I bought this for you, I hope it's okay."

Lori's eyes widened. "What? When did you…" she started, her voice trailing as she grabbed the bag from him and looked in it. It was a small black dress.

"I bought it for you while you were taking a shower. I hope it's okay," John answered. "Who takes a forty minute shower anyway?"

Lori laughed. It sounded just like something Uncle Jesse would say. She leaned in and gave him another peck on the lips. "You're amazing," she reminded him.

John kissed her nose cutely. "Right back at you, babe."

"And thanks for this," she stated gratefully, holding up the dress. "I'll go get dressed so you aren't enticed. After all, I'm here to take a shower, nothing more. Okay, well, maybe a little cuddling…"

"That's my girl," John smiled, pointing at her. She laughed and shook her head as she went to change.

* * *

"Wow, you look… wow," John commented as Lori stepped back into the room. She donned the black dress he'd bought her and her hair was voluminous. One arm against the door frame, as if modeling for him.

"You like it?" she asked modestly.

"I _love_ it," John corrected.

"And I see you used my hair dryer," he teased.

Lori laughed. "The fact you even have a hair dryer is ridiculous."

"Hey, gotta keep this hair nice and dry," he retorted, running his hand through his hair jokingly.

She chuckled as she crawled back in bed.

"I'm just kidding; what's mine is yours. Plus, you look amazing," he told her sweetly, kissing her on the cheek. "Now come here." He pulled her into his arms. "I placed an order for pizza while you were in the shower. What do you say we watch a movie?"

"Sounds good."

Being cuddled in John's arms felt warm, cozy, and secure. Lori watched as John reached for the remote and turned on the television.

"Any preferences?" John asked kindly as he scrolled through Netflix.

"Ooh, what about _While You Were Sleeping_?"

"Sure thing." John kissed Lori's forehead as he clicked the movie on. Lori kept her body rested beside John's and smiled in comfort.

Several minutes into the movie, John could hear Lori smirk beside him.

"What?" John laughed.

Lori briefly stopped laughing to answer him, "Maybe I had a bit too much fun with you earlier," she teased as she pointed out the mark she had left on his neck.

"It's fine," John assured her, unfazed. "I have some makeup I can use to cover it up."

Lori chuckled. "You know, you probably wear more makeup than I do."

John laughed. "See, that's the difference between you and me."

"What?" Lori questioned, confused as she looked into his eyes.

"You don't need makeup to look beautiful."

Lori smiled and pecked him on his lips. "You're not too bad yourself."

John grinned back at her.

Although she was supposed to be watching the movie, Lori couldn't help but catch herself staring at John. It felt so nice to be nestled in his arms and she wondered what it would be like if it were like this everyday. She had done this with Mossimo plenty of times, but somehow being with John felt different than being with Mossimo. It felt special. With John, it was like the rest of the world seemed trivial, like she belonged there with him and nowhere else.

 _He would have made a wonderful husband if he would have just settled down with someone_ , she thought to herself before sighing. _...I'm the reason he hasn't had his fairy-tale ending with the family he's always dreamed of sharing his life with._

Lori kept staring into John's eyes.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to him after a moment.

John looked at her, taken aback by her words. "For what?"

"For being the reason you never settled down."

John looked into Lori's eyes, confused. After a moment, he opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the doorbell.

Lori smiled pitifully as she sat up and John went to grab the pizza.

* * *

"It wasn't your fault," John finally replied as he set the pizza down on the living room table. "It was just timing and I did settled down. Once. But after things didn't work out with Rebecca, l realized something."

Lori looked at John as she took a seat next to him on the couch. "What?"

"That I would wait forever for you if I had to."

Lori smiled as he gave her a quick peck before putting pizza on her plate.

Lori looked around the room as they ate. "I just can't believe that I'm here. After all these years, I'm finally here with you."

John stopped and looked at her.

"It's perfect," she declared.

John smiled as he pulled her into his arms.

After they cleaned up their dinner, John took her hand and led her back to his bedroom. They snuggled up and continued the movie.

Subconsciously, their hands clasped together, fingers intertwined.

As the movie ended, John sighed.

"I really don't want you to leave…" John murmured, kissing Lori's forehead.

"I don't want to either," she said softly to him, her head resting in the space underneath his chin. "but we both know I have to."

Lori turned and looked at the clock on the bed stand. "I can't believe it's almost 2am."

"Time flies when you're having fun," he smiled.

She laughed as she kissed him.

"But I really need to get home and I also need to look like I came home from a night out with the girls, so let me do my makeup and then I'll go."

John nodded.

Lori smiled as she got up, grabbed makeup out of her purse, and went to the bathroom to freshen up.

* * *

Lori was making coffee the next morning when she felt arms wrap around her waist.

"Hey honey," Lori murmured as she finished stirring cream into her mug.

"Good morning, love," her husband greeted, kissing her cheek. Lori smiled softly and turned around to lean against the counter and look at Mossimo. She pressed her lips against his.

A second later, Mossimo pulled back and smiled, looking into her eyes. "Bella is borrowing the car today, so would you like me to drive you to work?"

"That would be wonderful," Lori replied sweetly.

They looked into each other's eyes for a moment before Mossimo finally said, "I'm glad we were finally able to talk things through."

Lori nodded, a glimmer in her eyes. "Me too." There was still guilt in her as she said these words, but she truly did enjoy being in Mossimo's company.

"Aww, look who's getting along," a voice chimed in from the living room.

Mossimo's arms around Lori's waist and Lori's around his neck, the couple turned to see their daughter Olivia beaming at them as she lifted her school bag onto her back.

Lori smiled as Mossimo gave her another peck on her cheek.

"Keys?" Another voice chimed in from the hallway. The figure walked forward to reveal her lavender sundress.

Lori reached over the counter and threw her car keys to Bella.

Mossimo then pulled away from Lori and clapped his hands. "Okay girls, school starts in twenty minutes. Grab your breakfast and let's go!"

Lori threw a protein bar over to each of her girls and followed her family out the door.

As Mossimo drove Lori, she lay her hand naturally on his.

"I should drive you to set more often," Mossimo suggested.

"I'd like that," Lori smiled. However, her smile slightly faded as they pulled into the parking lot and she spotted John's motorcycle.

As soon as Mossimo parked, he turned to look over at his wife. It took him only a second to realize the darkened expression on her face.

"Something wrong, honey?"

Lori gulped. She hesitated, not knowing how to respond.

"No nothing, sweetheart," Lori responded, lying through her teeth. She knew she would tell him someday. It just hadn't been the right moment.

Mossimo smiled softly and leaned in, pressing his lips against hers.

"I'm sorry I'm staying at work late tonight, but I'll see you back home?"

Lori nodded as Mossimo gently kissed her forehead.

* * *

"There you are!" Candace exclaimed as soon as she saw Lori walk in the studio door.

Lori shook her head in disbelief. It was almost as if Candace had been waiting on her.

"Come on, the girls and I want to talk to you." She grabbed Lori's hand and whisked her to the lounge room.

"Hey!" Jodie and Andrea chimed in as Lori walked inside and Candace locked the door behind them.

Lori sighed. "What do you guys want to know?" she asked, joining them at the table.

"Everything!" Jodie requested.

"Yeah, spill!" Andrea seconded.

Lori rolled her eyes and smiled. "That's not how this works. You ask me and I'll answer."

"Alright, I'll just cut to the chase then. Did you or did you not hook up with John?" Jodie questioned.

"Wow, starting out with the difficult questions," Lori laughed.

Jodie shot her a look. "Answer the question."

"Okay, I'll answer, but absolutely none of this leaves this room. You guys got it?" she asked, looking at all three of them. The girls nodded.

"Last night after the interview things got…erm...heated in his trailer," Lori admitted. "But I figured everything out. I love Mossimo and always will."

"That's it? That's all you're giving us? No spicy details?" Jodie inquired, appalled at Lori's vagueness.

"Gross!" Candace cried, slapping Jodie on the arm.

"Ouch, what was that for?"

"Details? Seriously? John's practically our uncle. You're disgusting."

"Okay, fine." Jodie looked back at Lori. "Define 'heated,'" she corrected, rephrasing her previous question. Candace smacked her again. "Ow, stop that!"

Lori just shook her head and laughed at the two, appreciating the stalling they were providing her.

"So you're staying with Mossimo?" Andrea pondered, ignoring the typical sister bickering and trying to make make sense of what Lori was saying.

"Of course. I love Mossimo, he's my husband. I just needed to get the thing with John out of my system and I did," Lori replied nonchalantly.

Candace, Andrea and Jodie looked at each other knowing there was more to the story than Lori was letting on.

"What?" Lori asked. "Aren't you guys happy? You were the ones pushing me to get over John and now I have."

"It can't possibly be that simple," Candace refuted. "This is you and John we're talking about. And where were you last night? Asking us to cover your lie is completely unlike you."

"She just said she was in John's trailer," Jodie reminded. "Speaking of which, from what I heard, she was having a _pretty_ good time."

"I was actually at his place too, but nothing happened there I swear. We just talked."

Andrea laughed. "Yeah, 'talked'. I think now's time for my question." Her mouth curved into a mischievous smile. "How was he?"

"Andrea!" Candace shouted, this time slapping her best friend's arm as she scolded her.

"What? He's not _my_ uncle," she defended.

"It was all nice. It was really great to figure everything out. Mossimo and I talked when I got home. He's been really jealous lately and I apologize for asking you girls to cover for me."

"Did you end up telling John that you love him?" Andrea asked.

Lori nodded. "Yes, because I do love John. I'll always love John, but sometimes you love people you aren't meant to be with."

The girls looked at her sadly.

"Have you told him that part too?" Jodie pried.

Lori looked down. "Not yet, I plan to tell him today."

Candace sighed. "This is exactly what I didn't want to happen. I didn't want anyone to get hurt."

"Don't worry. I know how to handle it." Lori placed her hand on Candace's for support.

"You made the right choice though," Candace assured Lori supportively. "Family should always come first. They always have to you and I knew you'd make the right decision."

Lori smiled. "Thank you, and thank you girls for everything." She got up and pulled them into a group hug.

"Now I need to go find John," she announced before walking out the door.

* * *

As Lori walked out of the lounge, she spotted John in his producer chair. She took a deep breath and walked up to him.

"Hey you," he greeted charmingly, taking off his glasses and setting them down on the table beside him as he smiled up at her.

"Hey," she responded nervously, putting her hands in her back pockets. "Can we talk?"

"Yeah, of course." John got up and led her into his office.

As soon as they got into his office, John closed the blinds and looked at Lori.

"Okay John, listen, we—" Lori began, but her words were interrupted by John moving in toward her and pressing his lips against hers.

For a moment, Lori melted in the kiss, but as John went to place his arms around her waist, she forced herself to push him away.

"We can't do this," Lori stated as she reopened her eyes. When she caught John's eyes again, her face went white and she could feel her heart start beating with anxiety.

John half-smiled in confusion. "What do you mean?" His eyes turned to what Lori was twisting on her finger. Her wedding ring. "Oh…" The word fell out of his mouth like shattered glass.

Lori looked at him sadly. She felt bad for what she had done and what she was currently about to do, but when her first words came out, she had to will herself to continue.

"What happened last night," Lori started to explain, "That… what we did… and whatever else that it is between us... It can't happen."

"I thought…" John narrowed his eyes at her, trying to make sense of everything. "...last night was special." He took a step back before continuing. "At least it was for me. Was it not for you?"

"No, of course it was…" Lori murmured softly. "It was great." She paused, thinking back to the moment. "It was actually the best I've ever…" a small smile arose on her face before quickly fading away, "...but it can't happen again." She sighed. "John, I'm married."

"We've both been there before…" John responded lightly, forcing a small laugh.

Lori looked at him, her face grave. "I'm serious, John. I'm sorry, I should have never—"

"Don't." John replied under his breath. "Don't act like that—like we—are a mistake. You know we aren't." His voice became pained, a lump getting caught in his throat. "We've waited _thirty-three years_ for this, Lori!"

"Exactly," Lori promptly refuted. "Maybe we got caught up in the moment. The idea of what we are— what we could have been. What we lost."

John opened his mouth and raised his hand as if to say something, but instead let out a sigh as he sat down in his chair.

Within seconds, Lori made her way over to his side and placed a hand on his shoulder comfortingly.

"I love you; I always will. If it means I have to wait thirty-three more years, then I will."

Lori shook her head before resting it on John's.

"I don't want you to wait. It's not fair to you, John. I want you to be happy. I want you to find someone who will love you for all that you are. I want you to settle down; have that family you've always dreamed of since we were teenagers. I want you to move on." Lori stood back up, pulling herself away from him and moving to stand in front of his desk. "You need to let me go. For good. You deserve all the happiness in the world, and I just can't give you that. I care for you deeply. I mean it."

There was a long silence between them as they reflected on the past several weeks they had spent together. Suddenly, all those moments seemed foolish to them. It felt like they were acting like teenagers, desperate for the idea of falling in love. They began thinking that maybe it really was just an in-the-moment adventure they had to go through together in order to realize that their lives were perfect the way they were. That they were always destined for friendship.

As John and Lori were thinking things through, Lori could feel tears rise in her eyes and she forced herself to leave.

As her hand was on the doorknob, however, John's voice stopped her.

"I never thought things would end up like this," he murmured, his head in his hands.

"John…" Lori responded softly, her voice cracking. She had tears in her eyes.

"I always thought we would have a happy ending of our own…" John continued, staring down at his desk. He couldn't even bear to look at her.

"I'm only doing this because I love you," Lori responded, staring into the hallway.

There was a pause.

"Can I at least drive you home later?"

Lori looked at him one last time before nodding and wiping away a strolling tear as she walked out the door.

As soon as the door closed behind her, she leaned on the wall beside John's office and, using all her will, tried to pull herself together.

The last image of the man she could have spent the rest of her life with could not escape from her mind. His last facial expression had proved to her that she'd broken him more than she had years back, and she could never forgive herself for it.

* * *

The cast had their last goodbyes for the season. They knew they were going to hang out before the season two filming, but it was still sad to leave the set for a few months and not spend all their time together.

Lori gave all the cast members a hug, including another group hug with her three girls. "I love you," she had told them, "I'll see you on Saturday for a real girl's night." They all smiled and waved her goodbye as she walked outside to meet John.

As soon as Lori spotted John, she realized he was still desolate from earlier.

"You know you don't need to drive me, I can just catch a ride with one of the girls…" Lori told him sorrowfully.

"It's fine, I want to. It's the last filming and it feels right for me to take you home. Are you ready?"

"How did—? I thought you drove your motorcycle to work today?" Lori asked, confused upon seeing his car where the motorcycle had been that morning.

"After our talk, I had my assistant come and drop it off," he explained, opening the door for her. "M'lady," he said casually, motioning for her to get in the car.

Lori half-smiled as she got in.

She stared out the window in silence as John drove.

"You were right, you know," John finally said, breaking the silence.

Lori looked at him.

"This is what's best for us."

Lori smiled softly at him before silently continuing to look out the window.

A few minutes later, John pulled his car into the Giannullis' driveway.

"Home sweet home," he announced bitterly.

Lori placed her hand on John's, looking at him.

"Thank you. For everything," Lori told him sincerely as she looked into his eyes.

John simply smiled at her. They got lost in each other's eyes until hearing chatter from the opened garage.

Turning to look at it, they watched as Lori's two teenage girls rode their bicycles out to the small space beside them. Mossimo came out shortly after and waved at John; in return, John gave him a friendly half-smile.

Lori patted John's hand before getting out of her car and going over to her husband. John watched from inside as Mossimo wrapped his arms territorially around his wife, happily pressing his lips against hers. What broke John wasn't another man kissing the woman he himself was in love with. It wasn't even seeing her kiss him back. It was watching her hug her daughters and grin joyfully around her husband and kids that had torn his heart into pieces.

Lori was happy.

And that's all he had ever wanted.

* * *

John walked around his bedroom, getting everything prepared for that night.

Shortly after John had gotten back home, he'd decided to text Juliette. Maybe he missed her, maybe he felt guilty, maybe he wanted to relieve his pain, he wasn't sure. But he made sure to set up candles in his bedroom, spread rose petals on his bed, and dim the lighting to set the mood.

Once Juliette had arrived, he immediately took her hand and led her upstairs.

"Wow," she exclaimed as soon as she saw what John had prepared. "You've never done this for me before."

"I just wanted to do a little something for someone… special," John told her softly as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips against his.

Kissing Juliette left a bitter taste for John, but he forced himself to continue. After a moment, Juliette finally pulled away and she bit her lip seductively.

"Let me just freshen up, okay boo?" she smiled.

John nodded, and as she went over to his bathroom, he playfully and gently smacked her from behind, causing her to giggle.

Once Juliette had closed the door, John went and sat at the foot of his bed. He took that time to reflect on everything, and ended up sighing to himself. After the magic he shared with Lori, he realized it would take someone pretty great for him to even want to kiss another woman.

John knew Lori was right. He should settle down with someone. But she had also taught him something else: that whomever that someone was, she should be special. And Juliette...

John's thoughts were interrupted as he could hear the door open behind him.

Juliette went over to where John was sitting and sat down on his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. She placed her forehead on John's and leaned in to kiss him, until, suddenly, he pulled away and stood up, avoiding eye contact with her.

Juliette narrowed her eyes, confused. "What's wrong?" she asked, beginning to realize his bleak facial expression.

John was pacing back and forth in front of his bed.

"I can't do this," he announced.

"You can't do what?" Juliette asked unknowingly, fixing her satin lingerie.

"I can't live my life like this anymore… I can't let you give your heart to me when I won't be able to do the same for you."

"But John—"

"Please leave," John disrupted, opening the door beside him. "Now."

Juliette looked worriedly at John before grabbing her purse and walking out the door.

As soon as Juliette was gone, John went back to his room and collapsed onto his bed, his head in his hands as he cried out in frustration.

After a bit, John placed his hands back beside him and stared at the ceiling.

He had finally let go of his rugged past.

He had finally let go of Lori.

If that wasn't courage, what was?


	11. Chapter 10: Three Years Later

THREE YEARS LATER…

It was midnight.

Season four filming was to be filmed the next day and Lori had decided to take a stroll in the park to try and piece her thoughts together for the first time in three years. In fact, as Lori began tapping her finger on the park bench and moving to sit on it, she realized the trip to the park was not only desired but necessary before returning to the set. Since _that night_ a year ago, there existed a vivid, painful distance between her and John.

That night, she had hurried into her car and escaped to the place she believed she could break down and no one would catch her. The place that had always been her hideaway, her sanctuary. But as she was sitting down, it only took a moment for her cycling thoughts to be interrupted.

" _How did you know I was here?" Lori asked the shadow that stood in front of her._

" _Because I know you, Lori." John went to the bench to take a seat beside her. "I heard what happened and I wanted to make sure you were okay."_

" _You can't expect to charm your way into making me happy this time," Lori mumbled to him._

" _Who said I was?" John asked, pulling Lori's head onto his shoulder. He pressed his lips against her forehead. He let her lay her head on him as she finally allowed herself to break into tears. The sight shattered John's heart._

The silence that had begun between them after that night had seemed to last longer than the night three years ago when Lori had told John to move on; she was with her husband. Lori sighed as the discussion had arisen in her mind.

 _Ex-husband…_ she reminded herself.

Lori looked up at the sky.

 _I asked the sky just what_ _we had_

A sad smile came to her face. That moment three years ago when she had looked up at the sky on the _Fuller House_ balcony felt like just yesterday. So much yet not so much had changed since then.

But as Lori subconsciously moved to twist the ring on her left hand, a lump quickly got caught in her throat and she placed her hand back on her lap.

The wedding ring was long gone, she remembered.

 _It shone forever._

Lori missed John, she realized.

After John had comforted her that night, Lori had gone straight home and gotten into bed. Of course, she couldn't sleep. She hadn't been able to sleep since the night Mossimo had filed for divorce. Since she started living as a single mom.

At first, she had blamed herself. She was the one who slept with someone else. She was the one who helplessly had eyes for someone else. She was the one who kept secrets from her family.

Her marriage with Mossimo had been one of the main things she had always taken pride in. She had loved her family. She had loved her husband. But the years following up to where they were now had included him arguing that while she may love him, he would simply not be able to make her as happy as he knew she could be.

When Lori had announced to Mossimo what had happened between her and John, it took them a few months to fix what had been broken. And after those few months had passed, they did seem to be happy again. In fact, Lori had constantly reassured him and after multiple discussions and meetings with a marriage counselor, their relationship seemed to not only return back to its normal state, but it also appeared to be stronger than ever before.

" _Marriages hit their low points and true love finds its way back," Mossimo declared to Lori._

Lori had found her will to smile and that night had been a magical reconciliation.

However, the following months had Mossimo realizing that their marriage was a two-way street. Lori loved him. He was _in_ love with Lori. That simple difference changed everything. And since he was in love with Lori, he wanted her to be the happiest she could possibly be. Which required him to file for divorce.

Now, three years since John and Lori's rendezvous, two years since marriage counseling, a year since the separation, and a few months since the officialized divorce, Lori found herself sitting on the park bench, staring up at the sky.

When Mossimo left, she realized he was right.

A part of her heart would always belong to John. She knew it was unfair for the man who loved her with every piece of his heart, but John… her love for John was undying. No matter how hard she tried, nothing and no one could replace him.

* * *

As John laid in bed, he looked beside him and a bitter smile came to his face.

Since he had told Juliette to leave that one night, he had vowed to only spend his nights with women whom he truly had feelings for. And since that vow, he had only spent nights with one woman. A woman he truly cared about. A woman whom he toured Europe with; whom he adopted a dog with.

However, that woman was no longer laying beside him.

Once again, he was alone in bed.

Before turning off the light, John looked through his missed notifications. After a moment, he went to his contact list. He scrolled to Lori's name and contemplated contacting her. He stared at her contact photo before finally turning off the light and trying to fall asleep.

* * *

"Are you okay?" Bob asked, snapping John, who had been distracted by Lori walking by, back into reality.

"What? Yeah," John replied, dazing off once again.

"How are you holding up? You know, since the whole Caitlin thing?" Dave questioned, in attempt to get details.

John took a deep breath before looking at him again.

"It was for the best. She wasn't the one," he answered.

"There are so many other women out there—" Bob started.

"Guys, guys…" John held his hand up to stop them from talking. "Can we not do this whole advice thing? I know there are 'plenty of fish in the sea.' Look, I've got it. I'm fine. I tried the whole adult relationship with Caitlin, it just didn't work out, " John looked over in Lori's direction again. The guys turned to look at what he was staring at.

"Oh no…" Dave commented.

"You can't do this again," Bob warned.

John stared at Lori one last time before looking back at Bob and Dave. "Don't worry, I know. That ship has sailed." He put his hands up, pleading innocent.

* * *

"How have you been holding up?" Candace trailed behind Lori as they walked into the window-walled lounge and sat down.

Lori sighed. She was so tired of the whole 'How are you after the divorce' thing, but she knew her friend was just genuinely concerned about how she had been since they had last seen each other.

"It's been a rough year, but I'm good, the girls are good. I love Mossimo and always will, but he did what he thought was best and it's okay. We're still amicable. He's just not the one I'm going to be with forever."

"I'm sure you'll be okay. You've always been so strong and independent," Candace assured her. "And if you ever need anything just let us know. We're here for you."

Lori feigned a smile and nodded. She knew it was going to be okay. Some days were just harder than others.

"Hey, Lori!" Andrea and Jodie greeted almost simultaneously as they both walked into the room and hugged her before sitting down.

"So…" Jodie began. "I hope you've been okay. I always knew that loverboy was nothing but trouble."

Candace and Andrea raised their eyebrows at Jodie, surprised. They never thought those words would come out of her mouth.

As Andrea's eyes went back to Lori, Candace kept hers on Jodie. "Oh, really," she stated blatantly.

Jodie nodded nonchalantly, unchanged by their reactions.

Lori shook her head. "It was never John's fault. There was more to it than what had happened between me and him. Mossimo had eventually come to realize that at the end of the day, John and I were just friends."

Jodie looked back at Lori. "And now?"

Candace moved her hand to slap Jodie's arm, but Jodie wisely caught her hand and stopped her from doing so.

"Anyway..." Jodie started again, shooting Candace a look before returning to Lori. "You should have some fun now that you're single again. Live it up. If not with John, I know a couple of guys who are _really_ attractive." She paused for a moment to think before continuing. "Ooh, I have one right here!" Jodie pulled out her phone and scrolled through it to find a picture.

Lori laughed. "Thank you. I appreciate it, but I'm not really ready to hit the dating scene just yet."

"I totally understand," Andrea agreed. "I didn't date for almost a year after my divorce was finalized. It's good to take time for yourself. Find out who you are and what you want."

"But just look at him," Jodie insisted, holding up her phone and displaying a picture of a guy who looked like a model.

Lori raised her eyebrows in surprise. "He is _very_ attractive. Although even when I do date, I need someone a little more appropriate. I'm a mom of two teenage daughters, not some twenty-year-old. I think I just need time. It's all still so fresh."

Jodie nodded in understanding, setting her phone down on the table.

"Well, we support you and whatever you decide," Andrea declared.

"Yes, agreed. We're here for you if you ever need anything. Even if that thing is for us to set you up on a date," Jodie teased.

Candace and Andrea both glared at her.

"What? Hey, I said if!" Jodie defended, laughing. "But all jokes aside, all three of us are here for you, always."

"She-wolf pack forever," Candace quoted the show and smiled.

All three of them nodded before sticking their hands up like ears and all four howling before bursting out laughing.

"You girls are the best. Thank you," Lori replied with a smile, thankful for each of them.

* * *

Lori checked her hair one last time in the mirror. She smiled at the beautiful white gown the costume designers had chosen for Becky's vow renewal dress. She was so happy that after the quirky Gibbler-Katsopolis vow renewal-almost wedding in Fuller House season one, that Becky and Jesse were finally going to have a real vow renewal. A serious one. Just the two of them. The ceremony the two characters deserved after all these years.

* * *

As Lori walked down the aisle, John had to catch his breath. Somehow she seemed to get more beautiful every time he saw her and to see her in that wedding dress—wow.

Lori took her place in front of John. When she caught his eyes, he winked at her, causing her to smile softly at him.

"You look… wow," he told her in a whisper.

Lori grinned for a second before stopping herself. "It's not real, Stamos."

The words had been meant for her own head and had unintentionally acted as missiles shooting out of her mouth.

John's smile darkened but he still looked into her eyes courageously. "I know that, Loughlin," he answered simply.

The directors yelled action and John began stating his lines as Jesse Katsopolis. Lori had Rebecca looking deeply into her husband's eyes. However, as nerves slipped into Lori, she could feel her heart racing and she had to look away. She chose to turn her eyes to the audience. She looked around, seeing the other characters happily supporting them. A few of the females had wisely chosen to go for teary-eyes. Lori's eyes then went to Candace, the wise soul who had told Lori to avoid falling for John in the first place. Lori's heart cracked as she realized that she was probably right— if she had kept her distance, her marriage may still be intact. Then her eyes moved to the man beside her. DJ's hands were rested peacefully in Steve's, and a tear was rolling down her face.

After a moment, it was time for Jesse to say his vows, and Lori turned her eyes back to him.

"Becky, I knew from the moment I met you, you were the one. I loved you since the moment I first laid eyes on you and I love you more every day. I didn't deserve you then and I don't deserve you now. You changed me and I'm a better man because of you. You're the best thing to ever happen to me and it's an honor to wake up every morning to your beautiful smile. To get to be there with you throughout each and every day. To kiss you. To hold you. To love you. I can't imagine my life without you and I can't wait to spend the next twenty-eight years with you. I love you now and I love you forever."

Lori felt a wave of emotions and tried to fight back tears she could feel building as she spoke her lines.

"Jess, you're the most wonderful man I've ever met. You make me laugh. You hold my hand when things are hard. You blessed me with the two greatest gifts of all, our sons," Becky looked out at their twins who were sitting in the audience next to Danny and smiled before returning to look at Jesse.

"Thank you for always putting our family and me first. I was in love with you twenty-eight years ago, and now that I've seen what a wonderful husband and father you've become, I'm even more in love with you. I'm the luckiest woman on earth. Thank you for the most incredible twenty-eight years of my life. I love spending every day with you. I love laughing with you, and most of all, John…"

 _Did she just—? She just—_ John thought to himself as his heart pounded a million beats a second.

"I've been so happy loving you. I will continue to love you forever," Lori smiled at him as she finished her lines, too captivated in the moment to realize the mistake she had just made.

"Why thank you, _Lori_." John smirked, causing a confused look to arise on Lori's face.

"Wait, what?" Lori's eyes widened in puzzlement as she looked down at their hands. John had been rubbing his thumbs on hers.

"Cut!" the director yelled, walking over.

"It's Jesse, not John, Lori. Let's take it from the top," the director instructed.

That's when Lori realized. Her heart raced and she turned a deep shade of red. There was a clear indication of panic on her face as she frantically looked at the half-confused, half-laughing audience; when she accidentally caught eyes with John again, she shut her eyes in further embarrassment.

 _Oh my gosh. I just— I can't believe I just—_ she felt a sense of panic and worry. John squeezed her hand which caused her to open her eyes and look back at him.

"It's okay," he mouthed silently, assuring her with a smile. She took a deep breath to try to calm down.

Just then the director yelled action and they took the scene from the top, resaid their vows and continued to the next lines.

"Jesse, do you take Becky to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do."

"Becky, will you take Jesse to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I….I….I…"

Lori's eyes widened, her heart racing faster than before. She knew these weren't her lines. Rebecca Donaldson-Katsopolis would have easily said, "I do," but she wasn't acting as Rebecca Donaldson-Katsopolis; she was acting as Lori Loughlin.

Lori looked at John and then the audience, freezing in place. Everything had felt too real, too soon. She had acted in plenty of wedding scenes before, but having divorced from her husband just a few months back and standing in front of the man whom she should have, just like Aunt Becky, given her heart to twenty-eight years ago, she just couldn't keep her composure.

Lori shook her head, running off stage.

Candace, Jodie, and Andrea rushed after her as John stood there in shock.

"...And cut again!" the director called out awkwardly.

* * *

"Are you okay?" Jodie asked Lori, placing a hand on her shoulder. Lori was sitting on a chair in the hallway, the girls surrounding her.

"I don't understand what came over me just now… I've acted for so many years, and that has never happened to me...and I can't believe I said John instead of Jesse. I feel like such a—"

"It's okay," Candace assured, placing a hand on her.

Lori put her head in her hands, sobbing.

"I didn't want to ruin my marriage. I didn't want to change the atmosphere around here. I didn't want to break John's heart again… I didn't want any of this to happen…"

Candace leaned forward to pull Lori into a hug.

"It's okay, you'll make it through this."

"We're all still a family, Lori," Andrea added. "And even with the tension that comes with you and John, we will always be a family and nothing will change that."

Jodie smiled sadly, patting Lori's shoulder.

There was a silence among them before Lori finally spoke again.

"I know I have to go back out there, but I'm so embarrassed. This is all just really difficult…"

"What is?" Jodie questioned as she fixed Lori's hair.

"I know it's all in character, but…" Lori paused. She looked up at the door to the ceremony and sighed. "How can I go out there and say 'I do' to a man whom should have heard those words from me all those years back…"

The girls all exchanged looks unsure of what to say. Andrea then bent down to Lori's level and looked at her as she patted her knee.

"It's okay. It will all be okay. I know it's hard, but hey, I've made way worse mistakes on stage. No one is going to judge you. You and John can talk about it or avoid each other after, whichever you choose. Right now you should just go out there and channel all of these emotions you're feeling into Jesse and Becky's vows," Andrea suggested before standing up again.

Lori looked up at her, calming down.

"For the fans, okay?" Andrea asked.

Lori thought about Andrea's words. For Lori, acting was never about the fame or the money. It was about doing what she loved and making an audience smile. Even when times got rough, she knew she could count on her fans and _Full/Fuller House_ family to keep her smiling, and she couldn't be more grateful to have them in her life.

Lori finally stood up, and with a nod and smile, wiped her tears away.

"Always," she announced before walking back to the ceremony.

* * *

Lori tried to keep it together as they redid the scene for the third time, but her head was spinning. She was still so embarrassed she said John's name, but more than anything, she was preoccupied with the reason behind the error. As John said his vows as Jesse, Lori felt his words warm her soul. She felt all of the emotions from their special night together three years ago flood through her body and her heart helplessly twisted in a knot.

When he looked into her eyes and told her he was even more in love with her now, she had felt all of the emotions from their first date come back. When he told her that she made him a better man, she had felt the words resonate through her heart. When he said that he loves her now and will love her forever, she had felt the sudden desire to be the woman exchanging vows not with Jesse Katsopolis, but with John Stamos.

She poured her heart and soul into her lines almost as if she was on autopilot, mastering all of the lines, expressions, and emotions and surprising everyone, especially herself.

For the first time, she realized John was the one she was meant to spend the rest of her life with.

* * *

"Third time's the charm," John said once wrapping the scene. He smiled at Lori.

She rolled her eyes. That was just the sort of comment she expected from him.

"That was by far the best mishap we've had so far," John smiled as he walked into his office and Lori followed him.

"Yeah, about that..." Lori's voice trailed, but when John looked at her, she stopped.

John's facial expression turned serious. "What happened out there? You worried me for a moment." Lori stared blankly, getting lost in his eyes. "Is everything okay with y—"

Before John could finish his sentence, he could feel Lori suddenly wrap her arms around his neck. She swiftly pressed her lips against his and desperately pushed herself toward him.

In doing so, she ended up knocking his back against the door and slamming it closed. She pulled her body even closer to him as her tongue danced with his.

After a moment, John regained a sense of his surroundings and forced himself to pull back.

"Whoa, what are you doing?" John asked, pushing space between them.

"I erm…" Lori bit her lip nervously. She looked away from John and took a step back, unsure of what had come over her.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that," Lori apologized, "especially since you and Caitlin—"

"We broke up a few weeks ago," John interrupted.

"Oh," Lori sighed subconsciously. She looked back at John.

"Lori, we can't just…" John let his voice travel before he started again. "We should talk." He went and pulled out a chair, motioning for Lori to come and sit down.

"Yeah, we probably should," Lori agreed, sitting down by his desk. There was a momentary pause as John went to sit across from her.

"So you and Caitlin..."

"It happened after the cast dinner. We just agreed it was for the best."

"I'm sorry… She seemed like a good match for you," Lori started, looking back at John.

"I thought so too, but she just wasn't the one. I gave it a shot. I genuinely cared about her, but I just wasn't _in love_ with her—"

Lori sighed. "I know those words too well."

"She was amazing, kind, loving— everything I ever wanted." Hearing John talk so sweetly about another woman made Lori cringe. "For the first time in years, I thought we could go the distance. I thought maybe she could be the one. I'd pass a few ring stores and she would come into mind." John let out a breath before shaking his head.

"I know. I saw how you looked at her. You were always glowing around her." Lori faked a smile.

"Yeah, she made me really happy. I just wasn't meant to be with Caitlin... or you." John looked back at Lori and she felt the need to look away. "But it's fine,.. I'll be fine. It just takes time," he continued. "I understand things aren't always going to be how I dreamed of them being... And with you, I had a fantasy world... it fell apart... I've moved on."

Lori's heart dropped at his words. She stared at John for a moment before looking down at the table between them.

"...have you?"

John just looked at her.

"I mean, yes, I understand, we're in the real world," Lori began again. "Fairy-tales aren't supposed to exist. After all these years, of course I know a person isn't just magically going to wake up the next morning and find the one they're meant to be with," she agreed, before a smile slowly rose on her face. "Yet, here we are in the real world. The two of us. Single. As if for the first time in our lives, the pieces are finally falling together."

John's lips narrowed, eyebrows furrowing in agitation. "So now that you're divorced again and have no one fighting for your attention, you're finally considering me as an option?"

Lori winced; his words stung. "That's not why—"

John sighed, his voice raised. "Listen, that night I told Juliette to leave my condo, I made a promise to myself. I wanted to change. You made me want to change. After being with you, I realized that I couldn't live the life that I did all those years. I took your words to heart and I vowed to settle down— to have a family. I tried with Caitlin and I thought about proposing, getting married, settling down with her, but I couldn't. I loved her, but every time I pictured the woman standing at the altar or the woman holding my baby or the woman I would wake up beside everyday for the rest of my life…"

John paused, looking up at an anxiety-ridden Lori. "No matter how hard I try, the only person I can picture having any of that with is you..." He stood up, daggering his eyes into Lori's. "But that can't happen with us. I waited and waited and waited, Lori. I'm done waiting. I'm done pretending we're going to work. I'm done _trying_ to make this work only for you to break my heart again."

For a moment, Lori just sat there speechless as John left his seat and paced around the room. He ran his hand through his hair, looking down at the floor.

"I can't go through the pain of losing you. I can't put myself through that again. I can't risk putting myself out there again only to see you end up with yet another man."

There was another silence before John finally decided on walking to the door; it was then when he suddenly felt a tug on his hand. When John felt Lori's hand in his, his instincts told him to push her away, but her simple touch caused him to soften yet again. Her closeness made the built-up tension in his muscles fade away.

"I know, but... it's been thirty-six years…" Lori finally chimed in. "We've known each other since we were teenagers, and since then have somehow always managed to find our way back to each other. After all this time, I've finally come to terms with the fact that this... _we_...are a risk worth taking."

John kept his body facing the door. He could feel his heart beat faster by her words, and tried with all his will to not fall back under her spell. "Lori…"

"All those times you've told me that we were meant to be together, that no man will care for me as unconditionally and lovingly as you do, you were right. All along." Lori squeezed his hand. "John, I've gone through two marriages. And when I was with them, I thought I loved them, I really, truly did. But yet here I am… not standing with them. But with you. For the past thirty-six years, no man—no person—has made me as happy as you do."

John finally turned back to Lori, pulling his hand away from hers. "But how do you know for certain that I'm the one you want to be with?" He attempted to blink his emotions away. "You really tore me apart, Lori." Lori could hear his voice crack.

They looked into each other's eyes before John turned away again and put his hand back on the doorknob. Lori, however, moved her back against the door, shutting it closed.

"Fate." Lori answered simply.

John's heart skipped a beat.

"When we were standing up there, saying our vows and looking into each other's eyes, I suddenly realized why my marriages didn't work." She could feel her heart beating faster. "It's you. It's always been you. You were right, I should have known when, among everyone else, _I_ was cast as Rebecca Donaldson, and I should definitely have known when you put the necklace on me and your hands met my neck and electricity hit. I should have known when our eyes met for the first time since Disneyland and we still had that same spark years later. I should know now when our eyes meet and it's as if we're still on our first date and the time hasn't stopped."

"So, it was a date," John teased, causing Lori to let out a small chuckle.

"Yes, John," Lori finally admitted. "Making out on the Matterhorn _does_ qualify as a date."

They looked deeply into each other's eyes and grinned— until John's facial expression turned serious again.

"Lori, I can't do this again—" John forced out as he tried to push past her.

Lori, however, kept her back even more firmly slammed against the door.

"Please, please don't leave me, John. I'm so sorry for hurting you, and I will always regret not taking a leap of faith and deciding to be with you. I should have never let you go."

John sighed and stared directly into Lori's eyes.

Lori could feel her eyes fill with tears. "I always thought I could survive your endless charm. I always claimed that we were just friends..." She paused and looked deeper into his eyes. "But I realized you can't just choose who you fall in love with. Love just isn't that easy. Maybe I am being stupid. Maybe I am being foolish. Maybe I am being naive. Maybe this isn't a Lori Loughlin move. But after standing up there, I know deep in my heart, not only as Rebecca Donaldson but as Lori Loughlin, that you're the one I'm meant to fall in love with, to spend my life with." John looked back at Lori, his heart beating faster as she moved in closer to him. "John…" she murmured, "After thirty-three years I've finally realized that I am and have always been hopelessly and endlessly in love with you."

John looked back at her, his lips slowly curving into a smile. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting to hear those words from you."

John looked from Lori's lips back into her eyes, a helpless grin on his face. "You love me," he murmured, soaking it in.

"It took me two divorces to realize," Lori leaned in closer to John, a smile slowly rising on her face, "but deep down, I think I always knew."

At a loss for words, John didn't respond.

Lori tilted her head at him, a helpless smile arising on her face.

John smiled at her cuteness and, taking his hand off the doorknob, wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in toward him.

Lori wrapped her arms around John's neck and, taking initiative, pressed her lips against his. They kissed passionately for a moment before John pulled back slightly.

"I am in love with you, Lori," John confessed as Lori smiled at him, "and this time… I am never letting you go."

John pulled himself in closer to Lori and kissed her more passionately than ever before.

As the passion built, John had ended up slamming her onto the door. They continued kissing for a moment before John finally pulled away.

"Wait..." he breathed.

"What? What is it?" Lori asked in between breaths.

John didn't say anything, he just silently pulled her along behind him as he began walking out the room.

"Where are we going?" Lori was still trying to catch her breath. It wasn't the first time he had led her somewhere, and now that they were together, she realized it wouldn't be the last.

"Shh, it's a surprise," John silenced her as he continued walking.

By now, the rest of the cast had already gone home. The only people left in the studio were him and Lori.

After a few minutes, Lori finally realized where he was taking her. "Oh my goodness," she laughed as she walked up the stairs. "John!"

John laughed slyly. "Welcome home, Becky," he teased, earning another laugh from Lori.

They looked out at the empty audience and within a second, John pulled Lori's body in toward his. He pressed his lips back against hers and led her to Jesse and Becky's bed.

Lori inched her back up against the bed and allowed John to lay himself above her.

John began kissing her neck. "So," he asked in between kisses, "you think the twins are coming home soon?"

Lori laughed against his shoulder. "I think we have time for a little fun." She smiled mischievously at him.

After a bit, she finally shut him up by rolling over so she was above him. She trailed kisses from his lips down to his collarbone. Their lips met again and she swirled her tongue with his before deciding to bite his bottom lip, causing John to moan.

John placed his hands down Lori's sides and rubbed his hands against her. He bit back a moan as Lori moved her hand underneath his shirt and rubbed circles on his chest.

"Lori…" John breathed in ecstasy, "marry me."

Lori narrowed her eyes as she looked back into his. "What do you mean _marry_ you?"

"Let me—did I say marry me? I meant please marry me. I didn't—"

"Ugh, John, just kiss me!" Lori exclaimed, continuing the mirroring of the scene in the first episode of _Fuller House_.

Lori pressed her body back against his and traced the outline of John's lips before her tongue intertwined with his.

John pulled back and watched as Lori's eyes slowly opened to meet his.

"Have mercyyyyyyy!" John cried out before Lori laughed and she kissed him again.

* * *

It took a few years, but Claire was right.

In the end, John and Lori truly were everyone's uncle and his wife.


End file.
